Outpatients Infection Control Upgrade
Strengthening safety, improving workflow, and supporting growing specialist demand
Dunstan Hospital’s Outpatients Department is one of the busiest parts of our facility, providing access to more than two dozen visiting specialist clinics and a steadily expanding range of procedures. As demand continues to grow — particularly for Health New Zealand–funded services such as colonoscopy — ensuring safe, modern, and efficient infection control processes has become critical.
Over the past year, Dunstan has made incremental improvements to its equipment cleaning area, especially in support of the growing colonoscopy service. However, to keep pace with both current and future clinical requirements, a full upgrade with structural improvements is now urgently needed.
Why This Upgrade Matters
The current cleaning area in Outpatients is functional, but it does not meet the modern standards required for the volume and type of work now occurring onsite. Enhancing this space is essential to:
Improve infection control practices
Increase efficiency and workflow for staff
Ensure equipment used in patient care meets contemporary hygiene expectations
Support expanding Health NZ procedural services
Prepare the department for increased outpatient volume across the region
This upgrade directly impacts patient safety and clinical quality — two areas that underpin Dunstan’s ability to deliver hospital‑level services close to home.
Growing Demand for Local Specialist Care
Dunstan’s Outpatients Department delivers care for a wide geographic region, reducing the need for people to travel long distances to tertiary centres.
Each year, the department provides:
Over 30 different types of clinics and procedures for a broad range of health needs. We have a large number of Medical Specialists, specialist Nurses and Allied Health professionals coming here each week to provide these services.
In the 2024/25 financial year we delivered 5,887 outpatient consultations which was a 7% increase on the previous year. This continues to grow as we introduce new services.
As these services continue to expand, the pressure on equipment cleaning and infection‑control areas grows in parallel. The current space was never built for this volume of clinical activity.
Clinical Perspective
“We have worked closely with Health New Zealand over the past year to increase our colonoscopy service at Dunstan Hospital. This means more people are able to access this procedure closer to home. We have been making a number of improvements to the cleaning area we use for colonoscopies and other procedures we do in Outpatients.
We are now wanting to upgrade further with some structural work on the facility to improve the workflow and infection control processes.”
– Cath Haig, People and Specialist Services Director
Cath’s perspective reflects what staff see every day: high demand, tight space, and the need for effective infection control as the foundation of safe care.
What the Upgrade Will Enable
A modernised equipment cleaning facility will support:
Improved sterility and cleaning standards for procedure equipment
Optimised layout that reduces cross‑contamination and supports safe workflows
Faster turnaround times, enabling more procedures to be completed each day
Better resilience as demand for local specialist services continues to grow
A safer environment for both patients and staff
This project is not just an improvement to a room — it is an investment in safety, capacity, and the continued delivery of high‑quality outpatient care close to home.
Why This Is a High‑Impact Priority
This upgrade strengthens Dunstan Hospital’s ability to:
deliver more specialist services locally
reduce waiting times
minimise travel for rural patients
maintain the highest infection‑control standards
support safe expansion of Health NZ–funded procedures
Improving this critical part of our hospital will directly benefit thousands of people every year.