BOPDHB History Whakatāne Hospital History Book | Page 57

The Chapel, service of dedication 19 February 1967
At the 25th Anniversary64 of the Bay of Plenty Branch of the Registered Nurses’ Association in 1960,
it was decided that an appropriate way to recognise the occasion would be to raise funds for the
construction of a Hospital Chapel. The nurses set about fund raising and following a very successful
Queen Carnival were able to present £7,534 to the Board. The Hospital Board’s Architect drew up
plans to meet the constraints imposed by the proposed site, chosen to allow patients and their family
easy access but unlikely to be required for future development. The completed Chapel has a seating
capacity of 49, a vestry and a counselling room off a small foyer leading from the main hospital
corridor. At the service of dedication, Reverends MW Fahey, BK Meadows and Reverend Father P
Purcell acted as the Officiating Clergy.

The Godfrey Santon Block, opened 19 June 1974
As mentioned earlier the Dawson Block and this building were part of the proposed 1956 development
which did not proceed any further after the Godfrey Santon Block was completed. The new fivestorey Block was named after the Chairman of the Hospital Board at the time, Mr Thomas Godfrey
Santon, cost $2.6 million to build and was opened by the Minister of Health, the Hon Bob Tizard MP
on 19 June 1974.
The Ground Floor of the Godfrey Santon Block provides, appropriately, the main access to the various
areas of the hospital including walkways, stairs and lift services, Reception, Administration and Te
Ahuru o Rehuaariki - the Emergency Department. On the First Floor are the X-ray and Laboratory
services and on the Second Floor are all the Medical and Nursing Administration offices the Library
and a Board Room. In December 2001 the Library was moved into the first (1928) Nurses’ Home
building where it remained until 1 April 2011 when it was relocated once more, this time to the new
Clinical School complex. The Third Floor is the Medical Ward, the Fourth Floor is for ICU (Intensive
Care Unit), CCU (Coronary Care Unit) SAU (Surgical Admissions Unit) and Day Stay. On the Fifth (top)
Floor are the Operating Theatres and the Central Sterile Supply Department.
As a result of the 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake, in 1989, a series of earthquake reinstatement
contracts totalling $1.7 million were approved for the Godfrey Santon Block. These involved the
removal of asbestos, the application of fire retardant coatings, installation of new suspended ceilings,
a comprehensive interior, exterior and mechanical services reinstatement and an upgrade of the lifts.

Adrianna Harawira et al, Whakatāne Hospital re-union 1988, (Whakatāne, Mann Printing Ltd) 1988, pg 3

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