By Katie Todd of RNZ An expansion to Lakes District Hospital's emergency department in Queenstown will begin within months as part of a $180 million boost to healthcare in the Otago Central Lakes area. Health Minister Simeon Brown said Health New Zealand's board had agreed in principle to invest $128 million in new operating funding over four years from July 2027, with another $52 million invested in capital funding. Health officials promised last year to assess longstanding inequities and develop a clinical services plan for the area, as residents were often travelling hours for basic care. At an announcement in Queenstown on Wednesday, after signing off on that plan, Brown said the money would expand primary, diagnostic, maternity, obstetric and gynaecology, and outpatient services as well as mental health and addiction support. "Every patient who can be treated here locally in this community is one fewer patient having to drive hours to Dunedin or Invercargill," he said.…