Delivering more hospitals and more beds across the Mackay region
The Palaszczuk Government is delivering three major health projects in the Mackay region.
The first is the Mackay Base Hospital expansion which will undergo a massive $250 million overhaul, delivering 128 more beds in a new wing.
We’re also delivering the new $31.5 million new Sarina Hospital which will feature more beds, more single-ensuited rooms, and modern new facilities for staff and patients.
The new Moranbah Hospital is also underway featuring larger ED capacity, a new helipad, CT scanner, dedicated mental health care and more specialised services.
These new regional hospitals will also play an important role in taking pressure off the Mackay Base Hospital.
We are also making sure we deliver more frontline health workers across our hospitals.
In February we announced 21 new graduate nurses have joined Mackay’s health service.
Statewide, an extra 9,475 staff across Queensland will also be employed in our health system so that more people can get high quality healthcare when they need it.
It is only our government that has time and time again proven its commitment to the regions, delivering new beds, new and improved hospitals, and more frontline workers.
As the Assistant Minister for Health, I am proud to be delivering these new hospitals that will meet the future health care needs of our community.
Read on to find out more about each project and what other health projects are being delivered.
Mackay Base Hospital Expansion
Mackay Base Hospital will get a $250 million expansion, with an additional 128 new hospital beds in a new wing.
I took our Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Health Minister Yvette D’Ath MP to a meeting with the Mackay Hospital executives to better understand the health needs of our community.
This exciting project will ensure more people will get high-quality healthcare when they need it.
It was first announced in the 2022-23 Queensland budget.
More details to come.
The New Sarina Hospital
Great progress is being made on the new Sarina Hospital.
Funded by the Palaszczuk Government, the $31.5 million Sarina Hospital redevelopment will deliver a new hospital with more beds, more ensuited single rooms, new gym, rehabilitation areas, day procedure spaces and staff accommodation.
The hospital is located on Brewers Rd and I’m glad to say construction is expected to be complete in late 2023.
Woollam Construction is delivering the build with more than 30 jobs being created.
The new hospital will deliver world-class health care to the people of Sarina and means Sarina locals can get health care closer to home.
The New Moranbah Hospital
I was delighted to announce that the Palaszczuk Government will deliver a brand-new hospital for Moranbah.
We’ve been planning for the new Moranbah Hospital since late 2020, when our government committed $500,000 for planning for the project including exploring the community’s current and future health needs.
The new Moranbah Hospital will future-proof the medical imaging facilities, by including space to allow for the installation of a CT scanner in the medical imaging department.
This means in the future, patients will no longer have to travel to Mackay for further investigation when it comes to the aftermath of an accident, or the diagnosis of certain medical conditions.
The new Moranbah Hospital will importantly have an emergency department and inpatient unit side by side. This means larger-scale emergencies will be more effectively responded to.
It will also have improved helipad access, to make any inter-hospital transfers more efficient.
We will bring hospital and community services such as community health, allied health and mental health together under one roof.
It’s great to see the royalties produced from this region being reinvested locally to deliver the services the community needs.
Construction begins in 2023, and the new hospital will be completed in 2024-25.
Mental health investment
The Palaszczuk Government is committed to delivering high-quality mental health care across our community.
We are delivering a $6.6 million upgrade to the Mackay Community Mental Health Facility which will provide safe, private clinical environments for patients and new therapy rooms so clients can be supported to manage their mental health.
This is on top of the new pilot Crisis Support Space at the Mackay Base Hospital which provides an alternative to the emergency department when someone is arriving at hospital in distress.
We’re committed to ensuring anyone who needs mental health support can access high-quality care locally when they need it.
