Springfield gets 174 new public hospital beds as Premier promises ‘record’ health spend

An extra 174 new public hospital beds will be delivered in one of southeast Queensland’s booming suburbs as Premier Palaszczuk promises a ‘record’ health spend.

The Palaszczuk government will deliver 174 new public hospital beds in Springfield in a bid to tackle the state’s bed shortage under a new commitment to be unveiled in the looming State Budget.

But all of the beds won’t be delivered for another three and half years - something Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk described as “great news”.

The upcoming State Budget will include $177m for the care of public patients at the Mater Private Hospital Springfield - while an anticipated $1bn will be spent by the government at the facility over the next decade.

A new hospital facility next door to the existing one will be built by Mater under the partnership with the State.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk speaks at the Mater Private hospital in Springfield today. Picture: Jono Searle

It will mean 174 new public beds will be delivered over the next three and a half years, as the Premier promised to announce more beds for another region in the coming day.

Ms Palaszczuk said building public health facilities within three and a half years was a “rapid turn around” - and said the new beds at Springfield would include those for emergency and maternity services.

“We know that in a fast growing community, we need extra beds,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“We have expansions at our hospitals happening in Ipswich, in Logan and Caboolture and the majority of those beds will also be coming online around the same time as well.

“So around over 800 beds will be coming online in the next four to five years in Queensland.”

Ms Palaszczuk promised the upcoming Budget would include a “record” health spend, but would not say what the increase in spending would be from the current financial year - beyond saying it would be substantial.

“You are going to see a lot of additional funding for health,” she said.

”We have made our priority about keeping Queenslanders safe.

“Now we know we have a growing population and we need to provide the health facilities that are needed for the future.”

The announcement comes after weeks of sustained attacks by the opposition over the State’s healthcare system.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath has previously conceded that Queensland doesn’t have enough hospital beds to cope with “unsustainable” demand.