The Dunstan Hospital Foundation - a new charitable entity created to attract community and philanthropic support for the region’s hospital - is being formally launched this week with a series of public events across Central Otago.  

The Cromwell launch on Wednesday (November 5) was one of the first opportunities for hospital leaders to speak directly to the community about the foundation’s purpose and priorities. 

“Why should we need to raise funds for a public health system?” It’s a question Richard Thomson says he gets asked all the time - and one he’s learned to turn on its head. 

“It’s a reasonable question to ask,” he said, speaking to a close to 30-strong audience at the Cromwell event. 

“But I think it’s the wrong question. The question we really need to ask is why have we taken so long to actively go out and seek that support? We get plenty of it - but we’ve never gone out in any organised way to look for it.” 

Richard Thomson, the chair of Central Otago Health Services and trustee of the Dunstan Hospital Foundation. Image: The Central App 

Richard, the chair of Central Otago Health Services - the body responsible for operating the community-owned hospital in Clyde - said nearly every public hospital in the country has an associated trust or foundation that helps fund projects beyond core government funding.  

He pointed to Auckland’s Starship Hospital as a well-known example, describing it as “world-renowned in terms of the work that it does with children”. 

“They’re constantly raising millions every year to enable that hospital to do world-class research, to enhance treatment, and to enhance the environment within which that treatment can take place.” 

Richard said the Dunstan Hospital Foundation would focus on two key areas. 

“The first - and it’s not sexy - is to build up an endowment fund that can be invested,” he said.  

“It generates revenue so that when Hayley (the hospital’s chief executive) come to the board and says, ‘The capital budget ran out here, and we’ve got this item just below the line, and we still think it’s really, really important’, then that funding can be used.” 

The second focus area would be project-based work - “often the stuff that captures the imagination of a community, because they understandably get to see where their money, where their hard work, is going to”. 

Among the first projects on the wish list is an upgrade to the hospital’s oncology treatment area. The unit now operates four days a week, up from one, but the space was designed for just three treatment chairs.

Dunstan Hospital in Clyde. Image: The Central App  

“We currently have eight people a day in there...our staff find ways around, but it’s far from ideal,” he said. 

“These are people who would be travelling to Dunedin for oncology treatment and, if you’ve had oncology treatment, you know for many, you’re going to be feeling pretty ghastly afterwards.” 

Another priority is expanding the emergency department, which currently has just two beds.  

Richard said when those beds are full, patients have to be moved into other areas of the hospital. 

“We don’t have line of sight, we’re having to split staff between areas, and that reduces safety.” 

He said there is very little capital spending in government budgets in the decade ahead for projects like these. 

"If we wait for the government to find some money, I guarantee you there’s always going to be a greater priority somewhere else - and we’ll be waiting for a very long time.” 

Hospital leaders speaking at the Cromwell launch were careful to sing the hospital’s praises while outlining key upgrade projects in the pipeline. 

The message was clear: the foundation will build on an already “extraordinary” hospital. 

Chief executive Hayley Anderson said the hospital delivers top-quality care to “many, many thousands of patients” each year, with Health New Zealand recognising it as one of the most efficiently run rural hospitals in the country.  

The foundation, she said, will help “extend the reach in terms of the services we are delivering from Dunstan”. 

She said the hospital’s success has always been underpinned by the generosity of its community, describing the foundation as “not a new gig”, but rather formalising something that has happened organically in the past - and now being able to leverage that through a proper framework. 

With the launch of the foundation, Dunstan is also modernising how it connects with its community, rolling out a new website and social media channels.  

“We’ve moved our communications into the modern world - something that’s been on our business plan for years,” she said. 

The new foundation is the third arm of Dunstan’s structure, joining Central Otago Health Services Ltd, which operates the hospital, and Central Otago Health Inc, which owns the hospital assets on behalf of the community. 

Foundation chair Warwick Deuchrass said the model represents “one team, all heading in one direction, working together”. 

“The structure allows us to be agile, to be responsive, and deeply connected to our community,” he said.  

“Philanthropic and community support will enable vital projects to happen faster, will allow us to enhance patient care, expand our clinical capacity and reach, and embrace innovation - keeping top medical care close to home for our community 24/7. 

Foundation chair Warwick Deuchrass: ‘Every dollar we raise stays in our region, directly benefiting local families’. Image: The Central App 

“Every dollar we raise stays in our region, directly benefiting local families.” 

He added community support often attracts further investment.  

“We know that community money leads to government money. When we show that we care - when we show we give, advocate, and get involved - we unlock greater investment and attention from government and public sources.”