Work began this week in preparation for construction of the $31 million new Mauri Ora Mental Health Inpatient Unit in Rotorua.

Te Whatu Ora Lakes Interim District Director Nick Saville-Wood said in a statement it was an exciting milestone as a new, purpose-built mental health facility had been very high on the district’s agenda for years.

This initial stage of the construction will have a large volume of earth moved on to the Rangiuru St site and left for months to settle, prior to work starting on the foundations.

It is expected that construction will begin in early 2023 and all going well, be completed in late 2024 or early 2025.

The planned new adult mental health inpatient facility will have 16 beds in three pods with a fourth shell pod to allow for further beds in the future. The configuration of the pods will allow different cohorts to be grouped together for example older people, people with vulnerabilities such as physical health needs or people who require a safe, low-stimulus environment with more intensive nursing.

The statement said the new facility will ensure the provision of modern, mental health and addiction services which will be safe for staff and tangata whaiora (service users) and culturally appropriate.

It would support a focus on the healing and wellbeing of whaiora by incorporating strong kaupapa Māori design principles. For example, the whare manaaki to enable a culturally appropriate space for options such as rongoā (traditional Māori healing).

The business case for the building was approved by the Government in September 2020 with the Government contributing $25 million for the $31m project and Lakes DHB , now Te Whatu Ora Lakes, contributing $6m.

A significant amount of work has happened since then to get to the current stage. This has included work by architects, engineers and project managers working with mental health and addiction staff, iwi and consumers on the detailed design of the building. A Ngāti Whakaue cultural and art committee will ensure the building design is responsive to Māori needs.

Preparation for construction also included the removal of two buildings on the site to other areas of Te Whatu Ora Lakes’ grounds.

In 2018/19, a co-design process resulted in a new model of care, Te Ara Tauwhirotanga Pathways that lead us to act with kindness, that guides the development of the sector and is driving the design of the new building.

Saville-Wood said Covid-19 lockdowns and the need to find solutions for the geothermal nature of the site had meant some delays in the progress of the building project however he said it was very pleasing to be able to announce this significant milestone.

The project was experiencing some cost pressures due to delays, inflation and the increasing costs and availability of building materials. The government had acknowledged these cost pressures and contributed a further $1.95m to the project in December 2021.

Saville-Wood said the new Mauri Ora Inpatient Unit would result in improved models of care for Te Whatu Ora Lakes’ residents in accordance with international trends, contemporary care models and good practice.