BUILD A NEW HOSPITAL

THREE months ago the Bulletin warned of a meltdown in services, particularly in the northern suburbs, unless governments supplied infrastructure ahead of need.

Australian governments have rarely been ahead of the game with infrastructure. They are always playing catch-up and as a result, there is usually considerable pain for the public, especially with transport and health services.

These two matters are critical to the Gold Coast as the state prepares for an election in a little over a week.

Transport has been a hotly contested issue, with the inadequacies of the M1 front-of-mind for a frustrated public.

The M1 passes through suburbs in the city’s northern corridor that comprise the fastest growing region in Queensland. But that population growth is not just contributing to problems on the motorway.

The northern suburbs, along with the rest of the city, are putting incredible pressure on the Gold Coast University Hospital – a $1.8 billion, state-of-the-art centre that has only been open four years. But as we report today, a former MP and hospital insiders are saying the Parkwood facility is on track for “paralysis’’. Demand has turned its emergency department into the second busiest in the country.

When the university hospital was designed and construction began, the Bulletin warned repeatedly that health officials and governments must take into account not only the city’s rapid growth, but also that for most of the year the city’s population is inflated by tourists.

The city also has a medium-sized public hospital at Robina, but there can be no disputing that another hospital is needed in the northern corridor — a city in its own right — to meet demand.

There is no point talking about “forward mapping’’. This matter has become critical and a start on a new hospital must be made in this next term of government.