Healthy city

Push for more services, doctors in Townsville key to future development

North Queensland is fast becoming a medical supersub. Earlier this year, the Townsville Bulletin hosted the Future Townsville event, which looked at what the city’s health care industry would look like in 2040.

The city is set to host the Australian Medical Association of Queensland’s Junior Doctors Conference, which the Townsville Hospital and Health service sees as an opportunity to sell the region to doctors who may be looking for a tropical lifestyle.

Townsville City Council has also just approved the development of another private hospital, which will boost the care available in the region.

The city is already a tertiary training hub for health services, but it can be so much more.

One of the biggest issues the region faces, though, is the drain of trained professionals to the big cities.

If Townsville wants to develop itself to be the hub of health care in the North moving forward, it needs to have more in place to keep people here.

Most of the time, people just don’t realise how good Townsville is.

But getting people in the door is just as important.

The new Ramsay Health service, which will be built in Hyde Park, is only one of two major private health hospitals in the making.

Townsville is also waiting the development of the Weststate Private Hospital, which is being built on the site of the old West

End State School.

This, in addition to the education that is on offer in the public system, Townsville should be better placed to encourage medical professionals to the region in the future.

With a growing population, it is more important than ever that organisations prepare for what is to come.

There is already a need for more medical services, more doctors, and more options, and the new facilities will make an impact on that.

And, if more young professionals can be convinced Townsville is the place to set up, the city is in no danger of being left behind in the future.