Newspaper Article 1994 – New company formed for $2.5m upgrade

Royston advanced

New company formed for $2.5m upgrade

On Friday at 1pm the Associate Minister of Health, Maurice Williamson, will officially open the redeveloped Royston Hospital. The $2.5-million redevelopment has made Royston Hospital the most advanced surgical facility in Hawke’s Bay.

Three new operating theatres including endoscopy suite, integrated day surgery unit, new high care recovery area, sterile supply, reception area and front entrance, and refurbished patient rooms are the main feature of the nine-month project.

The redevelopment has meant more than just changes to the physical structure of Royston.

A new joint venture company, Royston Hospital Limited, involving the Royston Trust and 14 medical specialists as shareholders, was formed to fund the project.

The new board of directors is comprised of chairman Callum Kirkpatrick, David Hughes, John Milmine, Frederick Phillips, Jay Tyler and Brian Martin.

“The corporate objectives of Royston remain unchanged, that is to be a pre-eminent provider of surgical and related medical services,” said chairman Callum Kirkpatrick.

“By continuously reviewing and improving the services we provide we will achieve quality standards that continue to exceed the expectations of our patients,” he said.

“The specialists haven’t just contributed funding,” said specialist and board director, Fredrick [Frederick] Phillips, “we have contributed ideas”. Each person has added their piece to Royston and there is a real sense of achievement.

“New technology is revolutionising surgery and after care. In 1970 a hip replacement patient would be in bed for three weeks. Now that patient is out of bed in eight days. Eleven years ago a knee cartilage operation would keep a patient in bed 7- 8 days, today they are out of bed in four hours,” he said.

“People are spending more time in the operating theatre thanks to endoscopy, and less time in bed recovering. This is an important breakthrough because so many complications are related to lying down,” added specialist and Royston director, Jay Tyler.

Royston Hospital was founded in 1921 by a syndicate of doctors. The original Royston Hospital located in Avenue Road, Hastings, was bought from Dr. Tosswell. This property was damaged in the 1931 earthquake but the medical equipment was saved and transferred to the emergency medical base at the racecourse.

The house across from the racecourse was owned by Dr. Roberts and this was commissioned to be used for emergency surgery. Within two weeks the property was purchased by a group of doctors for two thousand four hundred pounds and the original Royston Hospital Limited was formed. The first directors were: D. Bathgate, R. Cashmore, E. Y. Comrie, F. N. Harvey, W. Reeve, S. Schouler, H. Wilson, C. Wright and father-in-law of Royston’s present manager, Mrs Whyte, A. D. S. Whyte.

In 1950 the debt-free Royston was placed under a trust structure to ensure it continued to be available to doctors to provide surgical and medical services to the community.

Today Royston is a 24-bed hospital with a staff of 65. Each year more than 2,000 operations are performed. These cover the full range of procedures across the specialities of orthopaedic, vascular, gynaecological, ophthalmological, urological, endoscopical, plastic, dental and general.

“Royston offers patients a level of comfort and care that is beyond any public hospital,” said Mrs Whyte, Royston Hospital manager. “We give our patients choice. Choice of surgeon and when they would like their surgery to be done. We have no trainees, our surgeons and anaesthetists are all specialists.

Mrs Whyte says she is delighted that the redevelopment has been able to be completed prior to her retirement which coincidentally occurs on the very day of the official opening. “Royston is now positioned to respond to the new opportunities which will emerge from the Government health reform process,” she said.

Taking up the Royston management role will be Mr Gary Finlayson, who has been Hastings branch manager of the ACC for the past two years. Formerly Mr Finlayson was manager of the Hawke’s Bay Disability Resource Centre and prior to that he worked in a number of corporate management positions.

Royston Hospital will be holding a public open day on Saturday July 30, between 10am and 3pm. The public will be able to view the redevelopment and surgical procedures via videos and static displays.

Photo captions –

One of Royston’s three new high technology operating theatres.

Ward staff at Royston hospital.