33101 (2026). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health

33101 (2026). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health: On what date was he first advised that Middlemore Hospital's rapid build ward was unlikely to be operational in the second half of 2026?

Hon Simeon Brown: The 28-bed rapid-build unit is going ahead at Waikato Hospital, part of 140 new beds across five of the country’s busiest hospitals. The site beside the helipad is confirmed, designs are being finalised, funding for the staff is approved. Nothing has been cut or cancelled. Building a ward inside a live hospital means getting site selection and clinical safety right before a single patient goes through the door. No responsible government cuts corners on that, and that is why work has been underway to engage with clinical leaders on the project. That work has taken longer than first anticipated, and we have never pretended otherwise. Labour scrapped the health targets, spent six years restructuring bureaucracy instead of building capacity, and left the wards unbuilt. With regard to the Member's specific question, I receive regular written and verbal updates from Health New Zealand on the progress of the Interim Inpatient Units. As such, it is not possible to provide a specific date as to when I was first made aware of any date changes.