Work is progressing on Kallangur's new satellite hospital, with the project set for completion later this year.
The new health facility was first announced by Premier Anastacia Palazczuk in 2020, during the early part of the covid19 pandemic.
“It will reduce travel times for residents who currently need to visit major hospitals further away.”
Since then, the Australian-first project has been affected by a minor cost blowout and a building delay of several months due to lockdowns during the pandemic and various supply chain issues. The proposed completion date in May has been pushed back to a date to be advised, but sometime in 2023, according to a spokesman for the Minister for Health Yvette D'ath. The facility going up at 159-163 Dohles Rocks road is one of seven satellite hospitals to be established in southeast Queensland, with three of them to be located within the Metro North Hospital and Health Service region - at Kallangur, Caboolture and Bribie Island. The other four will be located at Eight Mile Plains, Redlands, Ripley and Tugun. The new hospitals will include a Minor Injury and Illness Clinic that will provide urgent care during extended hours. This clinic will be able to diagnose and treat conditions such as simple fractures, minor head injuries, infections and minor burns. There will also be other healthcare services on offer that could include treatments such as renal dialysis, chemotherapy, and day medical services, and other services such as mental health, child health services, women's health and antenatal services, older person's services, medical imaging, and oral health services. Details of what services will be offered in Kallangur and the other six satellite hospitals will be announced after the community consultations and the government decision-making process have been completed. The terminology used to name the new healthcare facility has been contentious, with the term "Satellite Hospital" causing confusion and comment in some quarters. State opposition shadow minister for Health, Ros Bates, issued a statement early in 2021 stating that "a hospital has a theatre, Emergency Department and overnight beds," and "the state government duped the people of Queensland." Lively discussions have also sprung up on various social media sites, debating whether the facility should be called a" hospital" or a "clinic". Some locals have expressed the view that a "hospital" should offer overnight stays or even an emergency department.
However, several reputable reference works provide a definition that indicates the new facility need not offer overnight stays or an emergency department to be termed "a hospital".
For example, the Cambridge Dictionary defines a hospital as "a place where people who are very ill or injured are treated by doctors and nurses." The Collins Dictionary states that a hospital is "an institution in which sick or injured persons are given medical or surgical treatment." ·
No matter what lettering is used on the front gate of the new healthcare facility on Dohles Rocks road, the government expects the service to help take pressure off emergency departments and provide hospital care closer to home for local residents.
Deputy Premier and Member for Murrumba Stephen Miles said in September that the Kallangur Satellite hospital is specifically designed to deliver health care to local residents where they live.
"It will reduce travel times for residents who currently need to visit major hospitals further away," he said.
On top of the Satellite Hospitals Program, The Queensland government is also investing $9.78 billion on a building drive that will deliver three new hospitals, 11 hospital extensions and a new Queensland Cancer Centre.
Moreton Bay residents can look forward to an expanded bed capacity in the region, with 130 more beds at Caboolture and 204 extra beds at Redcliffe. On Brisbane's northside, another 93 beds will be added to the Prince Charles Hospital.
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