$1.1b funding injection

Healthy spend expected in State Budget

INCREASED demand for services at Cairns Hospital will be met with $16.8 million in extra funding from the State Government in this week’s Budget.

The windfall is part of a $1.1 billion boost to Far North Queensland healthcare, which includes $5 million for a new CAT scanner for Mareeba Hospital, $1.4 million for a cardiac catheterisation laboratory at Cairns Hospital, $810,000 for community mental health treatment services to prevent existing patients from presenting to emergency and the start of construction on the Cairns South Health Precinct and the Atherton Hospital redevelopment.

The Far North Hospital Foundation has already raised $1.4 million for the cath lab.

Together Union Queensland vice-president and Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service doctor Sandy Donald said there had been a “longstanding, urgent need” for more staff in the Cairns emergency ward.

“Hopefully we will soon see improvements there,” he said.

“The money for the cardiac cath lab is an important step forward in giving people of Far North Queensland good access to top-quality cardiac interventions and the Cairns South Health Precinct is planned to play an important additional role as a backup should Cairns Hospital ever have to be evacuated again due to a cyclone.”

Health Minister Steven Miles said CHHHS would be given an operating budget of $936.7 million in 2018-19, almost $30 million more than the previous financial year.

Speaker of the Queensland Parliament and Mulgrave MP Curtis Pitt said the Budget would focus on keeping up with increased demand at public hospitals.

Cairns MP Michael Healy said the record investment was a win for the Far North.

Priorities for Torres and Cape York include $930,000 to support professional education in rural and remote communities, $370,000 for community mental health treatment services and delivering the $6.7 million Aurukun Primary Health Care Centre redevelopment.