Hospital tipped to draw innovators

Friday 2 September 2011

By Bianca Clare

Treatments for some of the world’s most debilitating diseases could be developed on the Sunshine Coast.

President of the Local Medical Association, Doctor Wayne Herdy, said once the new Sunshine Coast health precinct at Kawana was complete it would attract some of the “finest medical minds”.

By 2013 the site will feature a $150 million private teaching hospital and the $2.03 billion University Hospital which includes a $60 million Skills, Academic and Research Centre by 2016.

“The turning of the first sod is a historic occasion both looking back to the past and forward to the future,” Dr Herdy said. “Over the past decade there has been much public debate over the Sunshine Coast University Hospital project site, size and required services.

“That is all behind us now. The new hospitals will not only improve the quantity of health services available but also the quality.

“There will be exciting research and teaching opportunities.

“We could see some of the finest medical minds in the country attracted here.”

The new Skills, Academic and Research Centre will operate as part of a Queensland-first collaboration.

University of Queensland will help train medical students.

The University of the Sunshine Coast will be involved in the training and post-graduate education of nursing and allied health.

Meanwhile, the Sunshine Coast TAFE will provide training and provision of enrolled nurses and assistants in nursing and training packages for operational staff.

The centre will ensure staff receive training using the most up-to-date technology, including advanced life support hi-fidelity mannequins.

Early planning indicates that the centre will include three floors of teaching and research space.