Hospital provides key to fresh future

Maroochy Journal, May 27, 2011
By Sherine Conyers

The new Sunshine Coast University Hospital will create jobs internally, be supported by the university academically, and also provide a backbone for many other industries including sport.

Economic Development portfolio holder Cr Lew Brennan said the first wave of jobs would come from development and construction of the hospital, the second would be medical professionals and associated workers, the third would be industries as an offshoot from the hospital, including remedial therapy, extended medical services and sports health.

“Certainly the hospital is the heart of health and wellbeing, associated businesses and industry.

“Then associated health practices and sports health and the like all will grow out of that commitment,” Cr Brennan said.

However the big concern was to ensure Nambour services did not suffer by shifting and downsizing traditional services in that area, he said.

“Clearly there is a need on the Sunshine Coast for a hospital of that size and scale and its very much a welcome thing. We just need to make sure there is a full consideration of how this impacts across the region,” Cr Brennan said.

University of the Sunshine Coast Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Mike Hefferan has predicted the university will double in size in the next eight years thanks to the hospital.

Prof Hefferan said with construction of the 450-bed public hospital set to start in less than two years, the university would have to make a decision within 12 months as to what extra degrees would be offered, such as physiotherapy and medicine, at the Sippy Downs campus.

“If we’re going to have students ready to work at the hospital then we will definitely need to have new programs,” he said.

Lloyd Edwards, Zone Chair REIQ on the Sunshine Coast, said the housing sector and tenancy vacancies were already seeing the start of an increase in movement because of the hospital development.

“We’re starting to see activity on the central part of the coast, from people, even at this early stage, coming here because of that new hospital to be built in Kawana.

“I’ve dealt with five or six associated medical parties, just recently, that are renting up here because they’re in on the ground level the medical set up, the planning, the engineers, the architects and the like who specialise in medical.

“So there’s a bit of that going on,” he said.

Corporate Planning and Performance portfolio holder Cr Tim Dwyer said sport went hand in hand with the health industry.

He said a collective body needed to be established on the coast to better co-ordinate and manage sporting events for the whole of the region.

By doing that, he said there was huge potential to co-ordinate events alongside each other to increase the number of nights.