New Sarina Hospital: Tenders open for $31.5m project

Designs for the new Sarina Hospital are ready to go with the project now needing tenders. See what’s included in the plans and when the new facility is expected to open.

The design plans for the new $31.5 million Sarina Hospital have been finalised with the project now ready for tenders.

The 19-bed facility to be built along Brewers Road will include a gym, purpose-built rehabilitation areas and a room for day procedures.

Mackay MP Julieanne Gilbert said she encouraged regional builders to submit tenders for the exciting project that would support “top quality” healthcare and local jobs as part of the Covid-19 Economic Recovery Plan.

Mackay Hospital and Health Services chairman Darryl Camilleri discussing the design plans of the new $31.5 million Sarina Hospital along Brewers Road, Sarina with Mackay MP Julieanne Gilbert. The greenfields site is opposite the Sarina State Emergency Service. Picture: Heidi Petith

The Health Assistant Minister said building would start either in late 2021 or early 2022 with land already acquired from Mackay Regional Council.

“(It will) be complete in February 2023 with the first patients welcomed in April 2023,” Mrs Gilbert said.

Design plans for the new $31.5 million Sarina Hospital along Brewers Road, Sarina. The hospital will be built alongside a cane train line. Picture: Contributed

Mackay Hospital and Health Service chairman Darryl Camilleri said they would likely award tenders in mid-November, adding original plans to renovate the existing hospital were abandoned because of its “problematic” geography.

He said the new hospital would have 19 rooms including seven single rooms with ensuites allowing versatility, including for infection control.

“There will be a larger and improved gym space and purpose-built outdoor areas for rehabilitation as well as a dedicated room for day procedures such as blood transfusions,” Mr Camilleri said.

There will also be more technology ready for telehealth consultations.

But Mr Camilleri said the new hospital would not have an operating theatre or labour ward.

“Most of those things will still happen in Mackay, it’s only half an hour down the road,” he said.

MHHS chief executive Lisa Davies Jones thanked staff and the community for their involvement in the hospitals’ design, adding it was important it made patients, carers, families and their visitors feel welcome.

“There will be pathways, landscaped areas and courtyards to provide outdoor space and green areas for family visits and meetings, or for those times when a patient just wants some fresh air,” Ms Davies Jones said.

“There will also be a dedicated area to support patients in carrying out activities of daily living in a homelike environment,” she said.

The new hospital will not take any patients until after the entire build is completed.

Meanwhile, the MHHS is investigating what will happen to the old hospital including whether it sells it “as is” or demolishes it.