CDU’s Centre for Better Health Futures to tackle unique NT challenges
The NT’s unique health challenges will be addressed in a new multimillion-dollar training facility and prep the future workforce for a career in the Territory.
Northern Territory
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A $25.8m training facility could be key to alleviating pressure on the NT’s healthcare workforce and ensuring the Territory has access to specialised healthcare to match its unique challenges.
Charles Darwin University Vice-Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman said the new Centre for Better Health Futures would focus on training future healthcare workers in skills that are “really specific to the Northern Territory”.
“It means another big step forward with the production of our own healthcare professionals,” Mr Bowman said.
“We will be doing a lot of allied health in there, occupational therapy, speech therapy, audiology, pharmacy, and hopefully medicine soon.”
Mr Bowman was hopeful the facility would be complete by November 2024, with health students to start their studies on-site during the first semester of 2025.
The three-storey facility will feature a combination of clinical and preclinical simulation environments including an emergency department and 12-bed hospital ward.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the government was investing $10m towards the project, with about $16m coming from the university.
“The benefits of this place will far outweigh the $26m that it will cost to build it, we desperately need to train and retain more health workers,” he said.
“If you made a list of all the challenges that we face in communities like this one, one of the biggest challenges on that list would be how do we attract and train and retain the health workers to look after our people.”
Mr Chalmers said the NT’s healthcare economy was “front and centre” of the federal government’s economic plan.
“The secret to our country is there are people who want to look out for each other and look after each other,” he said.
“The more that we can do to invest and encourage people who want to work at the front lines of our health challenges and opportunities, the better.”
Education Minister Eva Lawler said it was important to have medical students trained and retained in the Territory.
“Training in the place you live and work supports greater reward and retention,” she said.
“The Territory government is focused on building capacity, providing more jobs and more localised training and education services to Territorians.”
Health and Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said the new facility was exciting news for the NT’s care patients.
“As a government, we allocate close to $2bn of our budget to support Territorians, to ensure that they receive care as close to home as possible,” she said.
“Whether it’s in a remote community, or whether it’s in one of our hospitals, we work extremely hard.
“We work closely with Charles Darwin University – over a thousand students are placed within Northern Territory Health, getting the on-the-job training to help them graduate and become part of our health workforce.”
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