Tertiary role for hospital outlined

CAIRNS Hospital has outlined its vision to transform the Far North’s largest public hospital into a tertiary institution within the next 10 years.

The proposed “Cairns University Hospital” would have tertiary level public health services combined with teaching, education and research, similar to facilities in Townsville and on the Gold Coast.

James Cook University and the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service have already been working together to achieve this goal, having signed a Memorandum of Understanding two years ago to establish the Tropical Australia Academic Centre, a Mayo Clinic-style health science centre.

The full plan for the university hospital is to be revealed in CHHHS’ clinical services plan, which will be released this year.

CHHHS’ outgoing administrator, Terry Mehan, said the health service would be able to reach this goal easily given the region’s natural population growth and compression of modern technology.

The Federal Government has predicted Cairns will grow to a city of 460,000 people by 2050, outstripping Townsville and Darwin.

“We’re going to be 300,000 (people) at a point in time,” Mr Mehan said.

“That’s a number where you can have a tertiary hospital.

“Then the technology cheaper and easier to use, and safer and more sustainable such as in the cardio-cath lab, cancer (services).

“What could previously only occur in Brisbane, now you can have it, very safely, in Cairns.

“Technology will bring access closer, because it’s safer and more affordable, and people can be trained, because it’s all digitised.”

Mr Mehan said it made sense for Cairns to take its research to the next level.

“We have become a leader in tropical medicine,” he said.

“Soon, we will be able to research and give knowledge to the rest of the tropical world, rather than sitting up here and saying ‘ how do we treat a crocodile bite’, and ‘how do we treat a marine sting’?”