Last week, Dr Shane Reti MP, Minister of Health, officially opened Canterbury’s new central city community maternity unit- Kurawaka Waiapapa. This facility has been developed by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora in partnership with Vital. It comprises four birthing units, 20 postnatal rooms, two whānau rooms, an education room and six assessment rooms and is ~400m from Christchurch Hospital. Approximately half of Christchurch’s babies are expected to be delivered here taking pressure off both the existing public facilities and families who might otherwise need to travel long distances.

The name, Kurawaka Waiapapa, was gifted by Te Maire Tau, Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri hapū Ūpoko. In Te Ao Māori, Kurawaka is the place where the first human being was made by Tāne and Waipapa, meaning surface water, denotes the springs that were in the area and was the original name for the area around Hagley Park.

Vital’s holding in this core healthcare precinct includes a significant parcel of undeveloped land which Vital is seeking to develop for public and / or private healthcare uses.

Read more here.