Constructions starts for Emerald Medical Group GP Super Clinic expansion

A brand new health facility is a step closer for Central Queensland, with works on the allied health centre and training infrastructure breaking ground.

Central Highlands communities are set to benefit from expanded access to quality primary care at the Emerald Medical Group - GP Super Clinic, with operator Central Highlands Healthcare (CHH) progressing plans for expansion of the existing facility, funded by Country to Coast, QLD, through the Australian Government’s Primary Health Network program and due for completion in December 2024.

A new health service and medical training facility for Central Queensland is one step closer with construction officially breaking ground.

Works have begun on the new expansion to the Emerald Medical Group - GP Super Clinic, which will include allied health services and mock hospital rooms for training James Cook University allied health students.

Plans for the facility were lodged and approved with Central Highlands Regional Council last year, with the planning document detailing the new facility would be built in two stages.

Stage one of the development will see the construction of the JCU training facility, which will cater for the training of allied health students, primarily in patient care and nursing.

The facility will accommodate a maximum of 30 students and include a two-bed clinical teaching space to create a typical hospital-patient care room, along with a utilities room and nursing area.

Work has started on the new James Cook University health training facility at Emerald.

The allied health facility will include 10 new consulting rooms.

Emerald Medical Group practice principal Dr Ewen McPhee said the new expansion would be a “welcome addition” to the support services needed by Central Highlanders.

“Access to, and the provision of, healthcare has been increasingly challenging, both for patients and for those few health providers left in regional Queensland,” he said.

“This new facility will improve access to physiotherapy, occupational and speech therapy, so critical to supporting patients with chronic and complex illnesses, as well as developmental support for children.

“Rural communities often have many frail and aged, and ensuring children with disabilities have the right support can be difficult, so this initiative will lead the way to improved health outcomes.”

Dr McPhee said while the ongoing shortage of general practitioners would not be solved overnight, it was critical to recognise the role of pharmacists, allied health professionals and nurses, working with GPs to build a wrap-around health team for their patients.

“We need to give local people the opportunity to train as health professionals in the community where they already live, as the evidence shows they will stay for the long-term,” he said.

The new training facility will include a mock hospital room.

“Many presentations to emergency departments might have been avoided with better and earlier access to team-based primary care.

“This model of integrated primary care could well be transformative for how health services are delivered in regional and rural Australia.”

The works have been funded by Country to Coast QLD through the Australian Government’s Primary Health Network program, an investment of $2.8m.

Central Highlands Healthcare Board Chair, Paul Bell AM, said the project delivered on the big picture view for the Emerald community where CHH could support and enhance allied health, nursing and medical training on the Highlands.

“In the past few years, CHH has built a pharmacy and is working with James Cook University to build a separate training centre. As part of the vision for CHH we are developing these new facilities to improve access to more affordable allied health services for the community we serve,” he said.

“It’s also great to see that local company Cardav Constructions has been selected to undertake the build, following a competitive tender process finalised in May 2024.”

Work on the new expansion is expected to be complete by December.