Allevia Hospital Epsom campus expansion - first look inside the $190m project

“I don’t think we’ll ever finish,” the boss of New Zealand’s largest private hospital expansion says.

Allevia Hospitals’ chief executive Dr Ian England led the Herald on a tour of the company’s Mountain Rd, Epsom, development in Auckland, with chief operating officer Aimee Bourke.

England was referring to medicine moving at such a pace that continuous development and change would be necessary.

Leighs Construction and other builders and contractors have transformed the Auckland property founded in 1901 by the Mercy order of nuns into this country’s most advanced private hospital.

England said it is the city’s only private hospital with an intensive care unit and a high-dependency unit for complex and high-acuity cases. This is New Zealand’s biggest private intensive care unit.

About $150m was spent on the job that started in 2022 to develop the new four-level Gilgit Wing alone.

But $190m was spent all-up, including expanding the carpark, changes to the main older Prendergast building and establishing a new Parnell sterile processing facility.

Public and private hospital patients are being treated at Allevia Hospital Epsom, previously called Mercy Hospital.

A new ward has been named McAuley in tribute to the Mercy order’s founder, Catherine McAuley.

England estimated about a quarter of Allevia Hospital Epsom’s patients were funded by ACC or came via the public system so instead of being paid for by a private insurer, they were funded by Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora.

Many of those funded by ACC come to the hospital for spine, shoulder or knee surgery, he said, having suffered injuries.

The wider job includes:

“Some people say, ‘you just do the easy stuff’. That‘s untrue. We do open heart surgery, head and neck cancer surgery, major spinal, liver and kidney surgery,” England said.

The new Gilgit Wing was built to the Australasian Health Facility Guidelines. Corridors are wide enough for two hospital beds to pass each other.

New hospital rooms are, he says, New Zealand’s largest at around 16sq m each.

The property is 2.8ha and comprises a number of buildings.

England said a further $20m could be spent on further work, including converting the seven old Prendergast operating theatres into new uses. A more welcoming entranceway is planned, too.

The new Gilgit Wing has:

Rosa Robotics machines are being used in theatres, assisting surgeons with precision and accuracy. One Rosa robot will talk to another larger robot to give precise help.

Cardiothoracic, orthopaedic, neurosurgery, gynaecology, urology, otolaryngology, cardiac and general elective surgery will be carried out in the new theatres.

Air conditioning systems generate sterile air, blown down onto operating tables.

About 500 open-heart surgeries are performed at the Epsom hospital annually.

Most private patients come via Southern Cross, which in the 2024 financial year said it had 955,301 members.

In the post-anesthetic care unit, drugs are in cupboards behind doors only accessible via electronic swipe cards.

But once the cupboard doors are open, safes are behind them. Those are used to store drugs, giving a two-check security system.

The sterile unit was developed in Parnell, otherwise, Bourke said another entire Gilget Wing level would have been needed to be built.

England said additions of new operating theatres and the new ward would enable the hospital to increase capacity for many different types of surgeries and serve the expanding population.

The new wing is grey because it was built beneath a volcanic view shaft and Allevia wanted to respect Maungawhau’s mana, he said.

Allevia Hospitals, previously MercyAscot Hospitals, treat more than 20,000 patients annually.

Allevia Hospital Epsom, Allevia Hospital Ascot at Ellerslie/Remuera and Allevia Endoscopy at Epsom and Takapuna are in the group.

The $190m expansion was funded via capital and bank borrowing.

All-up, the business has 22 operating theatres and 360 specialists work at the properties.

England said the business is owned by New Zealanders and the expanded hospital would be a great asset to the population.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald‘s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.