New CEO says region to profit from ‘laser focus’
The Far North will benefit from a laser focus on health issues specific to the region when the James Cook University (JCU) Hospital model comes into being, according to the new Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service (CHHHS) chief executive Leena Singh.
“It will enable us to concentrate on areas that are really specific to the needs of our community,” Ms Singh said.
“Areas where we have a high prevalence of chronic conditions – we can hone in and work with university partners, international partners, and our workforce on how we can actually solve some of those problems,” she said.
“We can become more innovative around how we drive or how we develop new medical processes, either using through technology, new models of care, early intervention.”
Ms Singh, who has been in the role for six weeks, cited diabetes, renal failure and rheumatic heart disease as examples of issues specific to the Far North.
“That’s where university status is really beneficial, because we can focus on things specific to us and also work with our South East Asian partners who face similar issues.”
The first stage of the JCU hospital, which has $160m government funding, will be the Tropical Enterprise Centre, which will accommodate teaching and research in medicine, allied health and related disciplines, and is expected to open its doors in 2026, creating 30 new hospital beds. The $250m Cairns Hospital expansion will deliver 96 more beds, a surgical centre, and a surgical and acute care refurbishment that will add an extra 64 beds.
Ms Singh said having medical students complete all six years of their degree in Cairns would boost local doctor numbers with data showing many would remain in the region.
“We want to drive our partnership to be broader and bigger, to ensure we have research partnerships beyond the graduate components, actually be able to have people come in and work within our hospitals, and placements inside the university to drive research,” she said.
Ms Singh acknowledged ambulance ramping was a problem.
The state government has provided $26.4m for an emergency department overhaul – which will be complete next February – and $20.7m for critical upgrades.
“The demand on our ED is high and we have been working through some new models of care to try to fast track people through ED,” she said.
Ms Singh said tertiary hospital status would help attract quality doctors and nurses and an emphasis on research would keep high calibre staff here.
She said CHHHS had just completed a local area needs assessment and a strategic plan, with the goal of increasing regional services.
“We determined where we need to increase some of our services so that it’s closer to home for people, rather than having to travel in to Cairns for care, particularly around chronic conditions,” she said.