1947: Middlemore Hospital
December 26, 2023
By AHNZ
Middlemore Hospital in Auckland opened on 3 May, 1947. It was a government project that, as usual, ran way over time as it was supposed to be completed by September 1943. Construction had not even began until August that year on land requisitioned from the Auckland Golf Club. At that point it was publicised as Otahuhu Military Hospital which certainly helped persuade the people of New Zealand to give up the money and land. Fresh from crisis, New Zealanders would do anything they were told if they thought it was for The War.
AHNZ speculation is that this was always a bait-and-switch on behalf of the Labour 1.0 Government. They probably only wanted to launder money and pay off friends of the party using the usual vehicle of a construction project. When it was done the entire ‘hospital’ was handed off to the Auckland Hospital Board who had never wanted, needed, or asked for such a thing.
“3 May 1947, Middlemore Hospital is formally opened. Construction of the hospital had begun in 1943 on land requisitioned from the Auckland Golf Club. Originally planned to cater for casualties from the Pacific, the hospital was instead purchased on completion by the Auckland Hospital Board.” – Manukau’s Journey, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections
“Members of the Auckland Hospital Board expressed themselves strongly against the Government’s proposal that the board should take over the new military hospital at Middlemore after the war….Mr. Moody said that the whole scheme, was “ill-considered and to expect the board to take over permanently a hospital of more than 308 beds was altogether too much.” – Northern Advocate (1943,) Papers Past
“The Government is going ahead with the construction of an institution for 300 patients, requiring 212 nurses and provided with all the services of a complete hospital. It did not consult the board beforehand, and is violating all the principles of hospital design in spreading the buildings out over a wide area…The authorities, he said, had “barged in” and were now meeting with serious obstacles. The hospital was to have been completed by the end of September, but it would not be ready by that time. After getting into difficulties the authorities had come to the board’s architect for advice and had bothered the medical superintendent, Dr. Gilberd…There was no provision for permanent drainage, and when the enlarged metropolitan scheme was ready the board would be faced with a tremendous responsibility. To provide four operating theatres for 300 beds, fully half of which would be occupied by medical cases, was monstrously absurd, said Mr Moody. It might be possible to obtain nurses and V.A.D.’s for such a hospital, but doctors would be a terribly difficult problem…” – Auckland Star (1943,) Papers Past
“Fletcher was made Commissioner of Defense Construction, with all the power and privilege he wanted…controlled the nation’s construction industry, fixing priorities between New Zealand and American military demands and the needs of the civilian population, securing all materials and allocating labour.” – p248, Landmarks, Kenneth Cumberland (1981)
Arnold Nordmeyer was Minister of Health at this time but Middlemore Hospital had little to do with health at all. Much more to do with construction magnate and ‘Commissioner of Works’ and ‘Commissioner of Defense Construction’ James Fletcher and his drive to be active if not productive. Tzar of all building, Fletcher, did his business then left the Auckland Hospital Board this ‘gift’ they did not want. It took them about 2 more years to staff and equip it for opening.
Middlemore was not the Auckland’s health system of what was needed or how its resources ought to be used. The Board said the new widely spread buildings violated all the principles of good hospital design and it was unreasonable for them to have to find some way to make the broken thing work. Drainage was another liability that had not been thought through and which the Board would have to figure out for itself. Who said they needed 300 beds and 4 operating theaters? Who said they needed a hospital like this in this place and that so many beds and so many doctors were needed or could be found? Government had simply barged in, nicked off with someone’s golf course, and expected to be thanked for the help like some narcissistic, cross-eyed, Fairy Godmother.
Nothing like this sort of inefficiency would be possible without government interference.
Fast forward to 2023 and Middlemore has taken to social media to ask people not to come to hospital! “Middlemore Hospital doctors have made a public plea for only patients with “threats to life and limbs” to present at their emergency department because it is nearing full capacity. ED doctors posted a video on Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau’s Facebook page on Tuesday saying the department was “really busy right now”. Ref. Middlemore Hospital ED in huge demand, plea for badly at-risk patients only to seek care, NZ Herald (December, 2023)
In a free country a service provider is very happy to have lots of customers and looks for more of them. High demand is a good thing. In a back-to-front socialist country like New Zealand a service provider tries to stop clients from accessing its product and begs them to please stay away!
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Image ref. W.B. Aston (1954,) Auckland Libraries Heritage Collection; splash of colour by AHNZ (2023)
Image ref. James Fletcher c.1960, Fletcher Trust Archives, Digital NZ
Ref. Roughly a million New Zealanders are missing out on seeing their GP, a survey has found, with the most commonly reported barrier being it taking too long to get an appointment. Stuff (December, 2023)
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