Cairns University Hospital: Palaszczuk to hear strong message
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will find a united front advocating for the Cairns University Hospital when she brings her full Cabinet to town in just over a week.
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PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk will find a united front advocating for the Cairns University Hospital when she brings her full Cabinet to town in just over a week.
The city’s business, employment, health sectors and local MPs are on the same page in their support for the project.
Advance Cairns executive chairman Nick Trompf has been chipping away at both sides of politics for the past two years. so the plan should come as no surprise.
The development was Advance Cairns’ top priority at both major delegations to state parliament this year.
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“Continued improvement of healthcare in our region is pivotal to liveability, pivotal to closing the gap and pivotal to attracting people to live in this region,” Mr Trompf said.
A perception still exists that regional health services are lacklustre, which can frighten off city professionals who might otherwise make the lifestyle shift.
Mr Trompf experienced it 20 years ago when he moved to Cairns and heard the adage: “If in pain, get on a plane”.
“That’s not the case today,” he said.
“But all data shows this hospital should be elevated now to a tertiary referral status.”
Cairns services a bigger population base than Townsville, with acute cases out of the Torres and Cape areas and the addition of 30,000-plus tourists at any one time.
“This isn’t just a Cairns Hospital,” Mr Trompf said.
“It’s got Cairns in the name, but it is much broader than just Cairns.”
Cairns MP Michael Healy said he would be relentless in advocating for the Premier to open the purse strings.
“We also need to see an expansion of our emergency department,” he said.
“There have been billions spent that weren’t budgeted for (due to COVID-19).
“There are real fiscal challenges, however, the government has to prioritise.
“I will be pushing not just for the development and expansion of educational and health facilities, but also ensuring we have the appropriate infrastructure to support our tourism and business and commercial interests.”
Whether that pressure pays off remains to be seen.
The federal government has made its contribution, with James Cook University receiving $60 million for the Cairns Tropical Enterprise Centre.
That money is contingent on the state government funding the rest of the university hospital proposal.
“We have always been kept in the shadows behind Townsville,” Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said.
“This brings us up to a level of quality that we should have had a long time ago.”
JCU’s deputy vice chancellor of tropical health and medicine Ian Wronski said achieving tertiary hospital status was crucial to the region’s growth.
Townsville has made that step, and JCU is committed to partnering with Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service to develop the Cairns Health and Innovation Precinct and establish Cairns University Hospital,” Professor Wronski said.
Mayor Bob Manning said the city had not been getting its fair share.
“If anybody deserves a bit more this time, it’s us,” he said.
Originally published as Cairns University Hospital: Palaszczuk to hear strong message