Budget 2022-23 to fund new Moranbah hospital, Mackay expansion

It has been years in the making and now it is finally happening. The heart of Queensland’s coal mining community will get what its leaders have fought to get for more than a decade. Here’s what is in the budget for Mackay Isaac Whitsunday.

After 10 long years of pleading and advocacy, Moranbah is finally getting a new hospital.

The state government will fund a new hospital in the coal mining powerhouse to the tune of $54m.

Mackay Base Hospital will expand to incorporate an extra 128 beds with $250m allocated to expand the hospital over the next four years.

Both the new Moranbah hospital and the Mackay expansion are expected to be completed by 2026-27.

Isaac Mayor Anne Baker has been advocating for the hospital for years and says it will give more certainty and security to workers across her massive region.

“It provides security and confidence to our community, that a fit for purpose facility is going to be available to them,” she said.

“I feel like for a very long time we have been advocating and our region has punched well above our weight for an extra amount of time, if you talk about the royalties we have delivered.”

She added the announcement could potentially stabilise the population base in her region and reduce the use of FIFO and DIDO workers.

“I think health is one of the sectors on where they work and live, the health sector is certainly something they look at,” she said.

“This is also an extra positive step to addressing the overall health needs of all of our region.”

Moranbah, with a population base of 9000, is the heart of Queensland’s coal mining industry and serves as a service centre for the entire Bowen Basin but its current 12-bed hospital is rundown after years of service.

Patient Jennifer Malcolm was admitted to the hospital in April 2021 and expressed shock at the dilapidated state of the facility.

While she felt she received one of the better rooms, it still had exposed openings in the walls, visible termite damage and a cracked ceiling around the air conditioner which left her thinking it could have fallen at any time.

“The community and surrounding districts heavily rely upon this hospital and it‘s falling apart, it’s crumbling,” Mrs Malcolm said.

“I decided right then that something must be done.

“I couldn‘t believe it and was in shock and a little disheartened over what the Moranbah Hospital has become.”

The new hospital will likely be built off Mills Ave on the existing grounds and all services will be incorporated within a single footprint, Mackay HHS has stated.

The new facility will provide expanded emergency department treatment spaces and incorporate enhanced outpatient, allied health, community health and community mental health spaces.

Other potential improvements could include a new helipad to reduce reliance on Queensland Ambulance Service and make inter-hospital transfers more efficient, an airlock entrance providing enhanced staff and patient safety, particularly after hours as it allows staff to assess the patient prior to them entering the facility, and medical imaging expansion to include CT.

The hospital will also improve the capacity of health workers to respond to emergency situations, including mine disasters such as the shocking 2020 Grosvenor Mine blast that left five workers on the edge of death.

The new hospital is part of a broader health-centred funding boom across regional Queensland.

Mackay Base Hospital will expand to incorporate an extra 128 beds, while Sarina’s new hospital receives $20.6m this year, part of an already-committed $31.5m spend.

Mackay will gain 128 extra hospital beds as it embarks on the biggest expansion program ever seen in a State Budget focused squarely on health.

The massive $9.78 billion hospital and health infrastructure plan will include a $250 million investment to expand the Mackay Hospital by 2026, something Mackay MP Julieanne Gilbert said she was “really pleased” about.

“Across our whole region, there is a huge influx of funds to really give all of our health facilities a lift,” she said.

“When the hospital (Mackay Base) was first built and opened about seven years ago, that (the extra wing) was like a 20-year forward plan so this is really bringing that infrastructure forward.”

Ms Gilbert also expressed her pleasure in the budget’s investment in schools across the Mackay region.

She added the money allocated to social housing was “a start”.

“We’ll see how the private sector goes,” she said.

“We need to have investment from developers.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the budget showed the government was acting to address a bottleneck being experienced in every state in Australia.

Mackay MP Julieanne Gilbert. Picture: Heidi Petith

“Every health minister in the country has highlighted this problem,” the Premier said.

“There are hundreds of people in hospital beds who should be in aged or disability care.

“Add to that the hundreds more with Covid and the health workers who have Covid themselves and the problem is plain.

“No matter the cause of the problem, we are acting on a solution and part of that is investing in more health services and health infrastructure for Mackay.”

Proserpine Hospital receives $5 million in 2022-23 out of a $7.9 million total spend for the refurbishment of the clinical assimilation training area and acute primary care clinic upgrade.

Bowen Hospital receives $5.2 million out of a $20 million total spend for construction projects, including a new CT Scanner.

The Rockhampton Hospital receives $12.3m out of a $24.2m total spend for the delivery of a cardiac hybrid theatre and the refurbishment and delivery of a 6-bed expansion to the mental health ward.

Emerald Hospital receives $8m this year out of a $10m total spend for the redevelopment of the emergency department and day surgery.

Funding has also been allocated for Townsville University Hospital upgrades.