Dunstan Hospital Radiology has increased capacity and reduced wait times, making it easier for our community – to access timely, high‑quality imaging close to home.

With expanded staffing across medical imaging and ultrasound, Dunstan Hospital is now able to offer greater appointment availability, including maternity ultrasound services and publicly funded imaging through established health pathways.

We also provide ACC and Private Imaging in X-ray, CT Scanning and Ultrasound.

A Stone of Peace, a Place of Belonging

At the heart of Dunstan Hospital now rests a taonga of deep meaning – a piece of pounamu, gifted with love, carried by history, and finally settled into a place where its mana can be felt by all who pass.

Pounamu is more than stone. It is a taonga tuku iho – a treasure passed from one generation to the next. For Māori, pounamu is known to hold wairua, drawing calm, grounding the spirit, and offering protection. It is often touched, rubbed gently, and held close, allowing its mauri – its life force – to steady those who need it most.

Thanks to the generosity of local businesses, service clubs, and trusts, Dunstan Hospital now has a dedicated patient transfer vehicle. This important addition is improving comfort, safety, and access to care for patients who need to travel beyond Central Otago — a powerful example of community support strengthening local healthcare.

Stories like this remind us that healthcare is about more than treatment — it’s about trust, connection, and wairua. In this reflection from the front line, Dr Trevor Lloyd shares the story of Nuku and Eru, two brothers, ministers, and men of deep faith, whose lives and losses shaped an enduring doctor–patient relationship.

Set against the beauty of Matauri Bay, it’s a powerful reminder that care close to home can be profoundly human — and sometimes deeply spiritual. A thoughtful long‑weekend read.

The newly released Dunstan Hospital High-impact Needs list highlights several urgent improvements identified by the hospital’s clinical team, including chemotherapy treatment chairs, a specialised respiratory support device, and upgrades to infection control facilities.

For the Pittaway family, their lived experience ultimately inspired a generous and lasting gift, one that transformed the Vincent Ward reception into a calmer, more welcoming space for every patient and visitor who arrives at Dunstan Hospital.

We are delighted to advise that we have been working with the Health New Zealand (HNZ) Ear Nose & Throat (ENT) Service in Dunedin and have opened a new service at Dunstan Hospital.

Stories like this are why local healthcare matters. In this reflection, Dr Trevor Lloyd writes about Donny, a high country farmer, former All Black, and larger-than-life local character whose resilience on the land was matched only by his reluctance to admit pain. From quad bike accidents to kidney stones to critical infection, Donny’s story reveals something fundamental about rural medicine: care close to home is deeply personal.

Kayla Sargeant, our Head of Foundation Marketing & Engagement, reflects on her recent visit to Teviot Valley.

This year marks a remarkable milestone for Trevor Lloyd, one of Dunstan Hospital’s senior clinicians. Trevor has just renewed his medical registration for the 50th time, with 26 of those years spent caring for patients at Dunstan Hospital.

A showcase of grassroots fundraising that continues to demonstrate what’s possible when people rally around better health outcomes for their community.

Kaiamio stands to remind us that even when we are faced with immense adversity, with the support of Whanau and the Whanau of Dunstan Hospital the people of the land can feel at ease, they have expertise at hand, a place to rest if needed and the facilities to cope with the Taniwha that arise.

As Central Otago and the Upper Clutha face mounting health-service inequities and rapid population growth, a new charitable trust has been launched to protect and expand the region’s publicly funded, but community owned, rural hospital.

Demand for this critical service has grown rapidly, and over the past year we’ve worked with the HNZ Gastroenterology team in Dunedin to expand capacity from one to three clinic days per month, ensuring more people across Central Otago and the wider southern region can access care closer to home.

In a region defined by distance, community, and rugged landscapes, healthcare looks a little different. For many people in Central Otago, the most important care they’ll receive doesn’t happen inside a hospital, it happens at home.

As Clinical Director at Dunstan Hospital, Dr Jonathon Wills leads with calm clarity and deep care. After a decade of service, he took a sabbatical to Rarotonga to explore renewal, balance, and purposeful leadership.

Each year, Dunstan delivers an expanding number of specialist services. Demand is growing rapidly, as People and Specialist Services Director Catherine Haig explains.

From gold rush beginnings to its role today as a rural lifeline, Dunstan Hospital’s story is one of grit, generosity, and community leadership, a 160-year legacy now carried forward by the Dunstan Hospital Foundation.

Visitors to Dunstan Hospital are greeted by beautifully maintained grounds, green lawns and tidy gardens reflecting the care within. Few realise this is thanks to a special partnership with Fulton Hogan that has quietly flourished for a decade.