Significant investments underway at Bowen Hospital

A new specialised operating theatre at Bowen Hospital is under development to support the Wellington community and meet the increasing demand for elective surgeries. Due to open late March, Bowen Hospital’s fifth operating theatre expansion comes after opening its fourth theatre in early 2020.

Sue Channon, Evolution Healthcare’s Chief Executive Officer welcomes the expansion of operating theatres to Bowen Hospital.

“We have seen a consistent high-level use across all of Bowen’s operating theatres. Increasing capacity will ensure surgeons can meet the demand of private elective surgeries. With the expanded capacity we will be able to undertake an additional 2000 surgeries per annum providing a real benefit for our community.

Alongside the private surgical capacity, Evolution is committed to supporting the public healthcare system. We see the development of these additional services as timely during the Covid environment and accessibility issues we are facing across New Zealand,” says Ms Channon.

Joining Bowen Hospital as General Manager in December 2020, Rachael Lucas reflects on the consistent increase in services at the hospital.

“We have seen a growth of specialists coming to practice at Bowen Hospital privately and have recently welcomed Gynaecologists to our hospital, a specialty we haven’t had for several years in our facility. To accommodate these new services for both patients and doctors, we are expanding our consulting suites. This will continue to provide access to timely patient care,” explains Ms Lucas.

“The expansion of a fifth operating theatre brings exciting opportunities for many healthcare workers wanting to experience the private healthcare environment. Our hospital is well known for our strong net promoter score, meaning our patients rank us highly for the care delivered by our experienced staff. We welcome nurses across all specialities to contact us if they are looking for a change and to develop their career,” says Ms Lucas.

Evolution Healthcare and property partners Vital Healthcare Property Trust (Vital) are committed to further developments at Bowen Hospital. In addition to the expanded oprating theatre facilkities and consulting suites we will also see a transformation of the ensuites within the ward to create a superior patient experience.

“We continue to see a growing trend of patients requiring services for ophthalmic, orthopaedic, general surgery, and plastic surgery, to name a few. Many of these people require an overnight stay, and we look forward to providing our patients with an experience second to none whilst they rest and recover in our new inpatient ward,” says Ms Lucas.

Development has already begun on the multi-million-dollar Bowen Hospital project, anticipating all works completed in late 2022. Alongside Bowen Hospital, Evolution and Vital are significantly investing in a full redevelopment of Bowen’s sister hospital, Wakefield.

Aaron Hockly, Vital Fund Manager is excited about the upgrades to Bowen.

“The works at Bowen represent the third tranche of investment that Vital have committed to as Evolution’s property partner at Bowen. This is alongside the significant joint commitments at Wakefield.”

Evolution Healthcare is investing significantly in healthcare across New Zealand. In partnership with Vital Healthcare Property Trust, Evolution has a strong pipeline of developments worth over $300 million NZD, including Bowen Hospital.