New $25.8 million CDU health centre will be a ‘game changer’

CDU’s new $25.8m health centre is set to be complete by July next year, adding much needed healthcare professionals to the Territory’s workforce. Read the details.

The new $25.8 million CDU health centre will be a “game changer” for Territory healthcare, Vice-Chancellor Dominic Upton said.

Construction of the centre is set to be completed in July next year, with Mr Upton predicting 40 medicine students enrolled by 2026.

They will join approximately 2,000 additional healthcare students who will use the “future facing” building, said Mr Upton.

The three-storey facility will include a simulated emergency department and a 12-bed hospital ward.

The roof was laid on the building, allowing work to continue over the Wet. Picture: Supplied

The facility will also be equipped with virtual reality and mobile technologies that can be used by CDU students at campuses across the Territory.

“CDU students will have access to state-of-the-art teaching resources and real-world clinical facilities,” Mr Upton said.

The Federal government provided $10m for the project, with CDU making up the additional $15.8 million.

Federal Labor MP Luke Gosling said the NT needs more allied health professionals.

Mr Gosling said the building will produce more “homegrown health professionals”. Picture: Darcy Fitzgerald

“This building is the future of the Northern Territory’s health workforce,” Mr Gosling said.

“We’re going to have more Territory, homegrown health professionals, and they’re going to be educated here.”

Mr Upton recognised CDU “needs more students”.

“This facility will attract students and keep them in the Territory,” Mr Upton said.

The Federal government’s recent attempts to cap the number of international students could threaten CDU’s 2022 plan to attract 8,000 students by 2027.

Mr Gosling said the cap was actually “a good story for regional universities like CDU”.

“The caps place limits on big universities in Sydney and Melbourne, making CDU a much more attractive place to come and study,” Mr Gosling said.