16 minute read
Health
Health MINISTERIAL BRIEFING NOTE
ORGANISATION
DELEGATION CONTACT
DELEGATES ATTENDING
DELEGATE ISSUES Cairns TNQ Convoy to CapitalQ
Advance Cairns, Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Cairns Chamber of Commerce are leading the region’s largest ever business delegation to Brisbane. The delegation includes more than 50 business leaders over a two-day period (February 18-19), representing 12 key business sectors to meet with State MPs and attend the Speaker’s Cocktail Reception.
Further information: Nick Trompf, Executive Chairman Advance Cairns E: nicktrompf@advancecairns.com | M: 0412 786 719
Health:
Trent Twomey
1. Trent Twomey, Senior National Vice President Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Partner Alive Pharmacy Warehouse Group & Director & Immediate Past Chairman Advance Cairns 2. Sue Andrews, Chief Executive Gurriny Yealamucka Health Services Aboriginal Corporation 3. Professor Ian Wronski AO, Deputy Vice Chancellor Division of Tropical Health & Medicine James Cook University 4. Nick Loukas, President Cairns Chamber of Commerce & Director Alive Pharmacy Warehouse Group
Attached are bios on each delegate.
Health issues to discuss:
• Cairns University Hospital Innovation Precinct • Cairns University Hospital
Attached are briefing papers on each issue.
WEBSITE LINKS
• Attendee biographies • Briefing papers
TRENT TWOMEY SENIOR NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT PHARMACY GU ILD OF AUST, PARTNER ALIVE PHARMACY WAREHOUSE GROUP, DIRECTOR & IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN ADVANCE CAIRNS
Trent is the Queensland State President and the Senior National Vice President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, an Adjunct Professor of the School of Medicine and Dentistry at James Cook University, Chairman of the Northern Australia Alliance, Secretary of the World Pharmacy Council and Director and Immediate Past Chairman of Advance Cairns.
Trent is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Council Member of the Queensland Futures Institute, Committee for Economic Development Australia Trustee, and the Australian Institute of Management and the Australian College of Pharmacy.
Suzanne is a proud Aboriginal Woman from the Jaru, Punaba and Bunal Bardi peoples of Western Australia’s North Kimberley region. She grew up in Broome and moved to Y arrabah in her early teens, where she now lives and works on Gunganghi traditional lands of Yarrabah North Queensland.
Suzanne has over 10 years’ experience in health and the community control sector and advocates for social change amongst her people and community.
Suzanne is a member of Yarrabah Leaders Forum (YLF), which drives the strategic direction of the community of Yarrabah. Her current board positions include Northern Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Health Alliance (NATSIHA), Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN), Mutkin Residential and Community Care Indigenous Corporation and Deputy Chair for Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC).
She is also a member of the Queensland Ministerial Sexual Health Advisory Committee, a member of the National Mental Health Service Planning Framework Committee, and is a small business owner of YarriCino Café in Yarrabah.
Professor Ian Wronski is Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Division of Tropical Health and Medicine at James Cook University (JCU). He led the foundation of the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, Australia’s only dedicated tropical health institute, is the Board Chair of the Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre and a Board member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Life Sciences Innovation Forum.
With over 40 years’ experience in rural, remote, tropical, public and Indigenous health, a key area of activity for Ian is the translation of this experience to rural, remote, Tropical and Indigenous communities worldwide. In 2014 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to higher education, particularly in the areas of tropical and rural health and the health of Indigenous Australians.
A recipient of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine Medal and the Life Sciences Queensland Industry Excellence Award, he was invested as a Life Fellow of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Nick Loukas is a local Pharmacist in Cairns and President of the Cairns Chamber of Commerce. He finished his schooling in Cairns and owned his first pharmacy at 22 years old in Mareeba. He then returned home to Cairns in 1995 where he owned a number of pharmacies in Cairns and Smithfield. He founded and developed the V Pharmacy and Alive Pharmacy Warehouse brands.
At present, Nick is the Director and Brand Manager of Alive Pharmacy Warehouse Group with business interests in Cooktown, Cairns and Gladstone. In 2011, Nick was invited to work with JCU as Chair of the Pharmacy Advisory Committee and continues to hold this position. He also has a Bachelor of Business and studied at Harvard Business School.
Nick is a fellow of the Australian College of Pharmacy Practice and Management and Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is a Director of the Tour of the Tropics bicycle race and a keen bike rider and triathlete.
In November 2019 Nick became a director of North Queensland Primary Health Care (NQPHN). His passions are his family and growing businesses, the Cairns region and leadership.
COUNCIL: ALL TNQ STATE ELECTORATE: ALL TNQ FEDERAL ELECTORATES: LEICHHARDT, KENNEDY ENABLING INFRASTRUCTURE
CAIRNS UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL INNOVATION PRECINCT
BRIEFING NOTE SUMMARY
• Establishment of a Research, Education and Innovation (REI) Centre will support the transition of Cairns Hospital to Cairns University Hospital status.
• The new five-storey REI Centre is proposed on land adjacent to Cairns Hospital. James Cook University’s Cairns Tropical Enterprise Centre (CTEC) will also be developed on the proposed site.
• The REI Centre has received $60 million in Stage 1 funding. This funding is for acquisition of land for the REI Centre and to fund the development of James Cook University’s CTEC.
• A Stage 2 State investment of $90 million is sought to progress the REI Centre to design and construction phase and a further $60 million is required to fit out an additional 80 beds in Cairns Hospital.
• To implement the CHHHS’ new master plan, $10 million is sought for a business case.
THE ISSUE Clinical research, education and expanded health services are critical to meeting the health needs of Tropical North Queensland’s (TNQ’s) growing population. Establishment of a Research, Education and Innovation (REI) Centre and an expansion of services at Cairns Hospital will be a key element in the transition of Cairns Hospital to University status, allowing the hospital to deliver worldclass, high-quality care to address the critical health challenges facing TNQ. The proposed REI Centre will be adjacent to and support the Cairns Hospital in the areas of research and development and training, transforming the sector to a hightech, research-driven collaborative enterprise between the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service (CHHHS), James Cook University (JCU), TAFE, scientists, and private medical and technology firms. The proposed REI Centre will enable CHHHS to address known research gaps, such as: • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health; • Tropical health and medicine; • Healthcare data linkages and health service models of care; and • Equity of access to healthcare for patients with rheumatic heart disease, sexually transmitted infections, renal disease, diabetes and blood borne viruses.
2020 STATE ELECTION PRIORITIES FOR TNQ In addition to clinical research, the REI will provide opportunities for innovative delivery of health workforce education programs, plus ongoing clinical advancement in nursing, medical and allied health services for its patients and its workforce. The centre will also allow for research and education staff to be relocated from the Hospital’s A Block, enabling a relocation of administration staff from B Block to create space there for clinical use. The REI Centre will house a clinical education facility and a virtual care facility to support the delivery of telehealth patient services. A core element of the precinct will be James Cook University’s CTEC, a research-driven medical facility that received a $60 million bi-partisan commitment from the Prime Minister and then Opposition Leader on 21 January 2019. The $60 million bi-partisan commitment will progress the acquisition of land for the REI Centre and enable JCU to establish the CTEC facility. A further $90 million is now sought from the State Government to enable the REI Centre to progress to design and construction phase as well as $60 million to fit-out an additional 80 beds in Cairns Hospital. The proposed REI centre will support the transition of Cairns Hospital to Cairns University Hospital. The CHHHS has recently finished a master plan which identifies $500 million in infrastructure needs over the next 20 years. $10 million is required to complete a business case to deliver the master plan.
BACKGROUND The Cairns Hospital supports an estimated resident population of 278,000 and regularly provides acute medical services for residents of the Cape and Torres region (population of 26,399). Combined with estimated population growth of 1.1% per annum, and an ageing population, it is estimated that by 2026 an additional 67,000 people will reside in the catchment area with close to one in five residents being over 65 years of age. In addition, Cairns Hospital provides medical services for the estimated five million tourists that visit the region annually. In 2018-2019 there were 74,667 presentations to the Cairns Hospital emergency department, a 24% increase over the preceding five years, and 82,727 patients were admitted to the Hospital. Throughout 2019 the emergency department has faced unprecedented pressure, averaging 211 patients per day, an increase of 4% year on year. Also 30% of emergency patients are tourists or people who live outside Cairns, in rural and remote areas including Cape York and Torres Strait. Demand for CHHHS services will therefore continue to rapidly increase. Expansion of the capability and status of the Cairns Hospital is required to meet the future health needs of the growing TNQ population. The proposal for a five-storey REI Centre to service this population has broad partner support and seeks to build on successive government
investments. CHHHS, supported by the Northern Queensland Primary Healthcare Network (PHN), JCU and Advance Cairns, is collectively seeking to improve the ability of Cairns to build its own medical, nursing and allied health workforce and translate research into practice to improve health outcomes in our community.
NEXT STEPS To deliver on the vision for the REI Centre, CHHHS is required to construct a dedicated new facility adjacent to Cairns Hospital. Having secured $60 million in Federal funding to progress the land acquisition for the project, a further $90 million is now sought from the State Government to progress the REI Centre to design and construction phase as well as $60 million to fit out an additional 80 beds in Cairns Hospital. Through expanding the Cairns Hospital precinct to accommodate medical research and specialised workforce training, the REI Centre will support the transition of Cairns Hospital to Level 6 University status. A core element of the precinct will be James Cook University’s CTEC, a research-driven medical facility. CTEC will also support the delivery of JCU’s proposed Tropical Global Health Centre, which will allow expansion of the JCU Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program to offer Years 1-6 in Cairns (and Mackay). The combined footprint of the Cairns Hospital, REI Centre and CTEC is proposed to be known as the Cairns University Hospital Innovation Precinct.
OUR RECOMMENDATION
• That to fast-track purchase of the land, in 2020the Queensland Government commits $90 million in funds to Queensland Health to progress Stage 2 of the Cairns University Hospital’s Health and Knowledge Precinct, enabling the establishment of a Research, Education and Innovation Centre in Cairns.
• That the Queensland Government over three years from 2020-2021 provides $60 million to fit out an additional 80 beds in Cairns Hospital.
• That the Queensland Government provides $10 million in 2019-2020 to fund a business case to implement the CHHHS master plan.
RECOMMENDED INVESTMENT
Estimated project cost $160 million
State Investment 2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023
COUNCIL: ALL TNQ STATE ELECTORATE: ALL TNQ FEDERAL ELECTORATES: LEICHHARDT, KENNEDY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT
CAIRNS UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
BRIEFING NOTE SUMMARY
• In 2019 the State Government announced an operating budget of $1 billion for the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service.
• Significant additional recurrent funding* beyond the current budget is sought to facilitate the transition of Cairns Hospital to Cairns University Hospital (Level 6 tertiary referral).
• Level 6 status will facilitate new services, reducing the need to travel outside the region for medical treatment.
• The CHHHS master planning process has identified $500 million in infrastructure needs over the next 20 years, $10 million is now sought for a detailed business case for the master plan.
• To attract, retain and educate the workforce required, JCU’s College of Medicine and Dentistry requires an extra 50 Commonwealth Supported Places, 30 International places and an allocation of scholarships through the Destination Australia scholarships program.
THE ISSUE Expanded clinical services and a qualified and comprehensive workforce at Cairns Hospital are critical for meeting the health needs of Tropical North Queensland’s (TNQ’s) growing population. Over the past three years, the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service (CHHHS) has addressed this need with an expansion of clinical services, including: • locally based urology services; • a new adolescent ward; • 24-hour availability of the cardiac catheter laboratory; • an expanded intensive care unit; • a dedicated stroke service; and • increased cancer care services. In 2019 the State Government announced an operating budget for CHHHS of $1 billion, plus $70 million to upgrade the Mental Health Unit, $2.8 million to build a second catheterisation laboratory and $4 million for a vascular surgery theatre. In coming years, the CHHHS is aiming to obtain Level 6 status in in a range of clinical areas including endoscopy, cardiac (coronary care unit), cardiac medicine, some medical and surgical specialties, perioperative (operating suite and post anaesthetic room) and anaesthetics, reducing the need to travel outside the region for medical treatment. Following these investments, the Cairns Hospital will be delivering its highest level of care to date. However, to cater for growing
demand and address the critical health challenges facing TNQ, there remains an urgent need to continue to increase surgical capacity (outpatients, pre-admission clinic and operating theatre time) and to recruit Cairnsbased clinicians to provide specialist services currently being delivered elsewhere. The CHHHS has recently completed a master planning process identifying infrastructure needs worth an estimated $500 million over the next 20 years and is now seeking $10 million to complete a detailed business case to map out this significant upgrade.
BACKGROUND In 2018-2019 there were 74,667 presentations to the Cairns Hospital emergency department, a 24% increase over the preceding five years, and 82,727 patients were admitted to the Hospital. Throughout 2019 the emergency department has faced unprecedented pressure, averaging 211 patients per day, a 4% increase on the previous year. Also 30% of emergency patients are tourists or people who live outside Cairns, in rural and remote areas including Cape York and Torres Strait. The Cairns Hospital supports an estimated resident population of 278,080 and regularly provides acute medical services for residents of the Cape and Torres region (population of 26,399). Combined with estimated population growth of 1.1% per annum, and an ageing population, it is estimated that by 2026 an additional 67,000 people will reside in the
catchment area with close to one in five residents being over 65. The Cairns Hospital also provides medical services for the three million tourists that visit the region annually. Demand for CHHHS services will therefore continue to increase, requiring continued investment in specialised training for the local health workforce, with current planning predicting an extra 80 inpatient beds are needed by 2028 and 223 by 2037. When combined with the expansion of University medical training facilities in the region, particularly by James Cook University (JCU), there is growing momentum to upgrade Cairns Hospital to Cairns University Hospital. For example: • Based within JCU’s Division of Tropical Health and Medicine, JCU proposes to establish a Tropical Global Health Centre to produce research-enabled clinicians with extensive clinical training in population health and global public policy. The Centre will leverage investment in the Cairns University Hospital to provide students with globally relevant training and deliver a medical workforce specifically prepared to handle regional health challenges. Although initially focused on the medical workforce, the program will subsequently expand to include nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, allied health and veterinary health professionals. • The CHHHS strategic plan includes a priority to build a Research, Education and Innovation (REI) Centre in Cairns that will provide state of the art research and education infrastructure for the region. Once
constructed, through partnerships with educators, scientists, medical practitioners and technology firms, the $150 million REI Centre will ensure skilled health workers are attracted to, and remain in the region, building clinical capability to improve patient outcomes in the region. • Cairns Hospital is the first regional digital hospital in Australia, which demonstrates its ability to manage the operational change required to progress to level 6 service delivery.
NEXT STEPS To successfully transition Cairns Hospital to Cairns University Hospital, an increase in Level 6 services is required over the next three years across specialties such as cardiac medicine, endoscopy and other medical and surgical specialties. Master planning by CHHHS has also identified the need for an estimated $500 million in infrastructure during the next 20 years with $10 million now needed for a detailed business case. In addition, to support the training and recruitment of Cairns-based clinicians, JCU requires an additional 50 Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) and 30 international places recurrent for the JCU Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program. This will allow JCU to offer years 1-6 of the MBBS in Cairns and Mackay. The additional places will be distributed across the regional centres of Cairns (30), Mackay (10) and Townsville (40).
OUR RECOMMENDATION
• Additional funding is sought to facilitate the transition of Cairns Hospital to Cairns University Hospital (Level 6 referral status).
• That the State Government provides $10 million in 2019-2020 for a detailed business case to support implementation of the CHHHS master plan over the next 20 years.
• That to support the training of a regional medical workforce, the Federal Government allocate an additional 50 Commonwealth Supported Places and 30 International places recurrent, together with an allocation of Destination Australia scholarships to JCU’s School of Medicine and Dentistry.
RECOMMENDED INVESTMENT
Estimated additional recurrent funding
State Investment Federal Investment (CSP) 2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023
$10m TBC* - $26.7m
TBC* TBC* $26.7m $26.7m
