ENABLING INFRASTRUCTURE
ADVANCE CAIRNS PRIORITIES 2021/22
CAIRNS UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT COUNCIL: ALL TNQ STATE ELECTORATE: ALL TNQ FEDERAL ELECTORATE: KENNEDY, LEICHHARDT
THE ISSUE Clinical research, education and expanded health services are critical to meeting the health needs of Tropical North Queensland’s growing population. Establishing a Cairns Health and Innovation Centre (CHIC) 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 world-class, highquality care to address the critical health challenges facing TNQ. It will also enable the hospital to address its current challenges related to hospital capacity, site resilience, workforce attraction and retention, and bringing care closer to home for our community. The proposed CHIC is intended to be adjacent to and support the Cairns Hospital in the areas of research, development and training, transforming the sector to a high-tech, 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 CHIC will enable some services to be relocated from the main hospital, freeing up critical assets for clinical services. Some of the hospital’s critical services on the ground floor may also be shifted to other parts of the Cairns Hospital to address short-term service continuity risks. The proposed CHIC 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.
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ADVANCE CAIRNS STATE BUDGET SUBMISSION
In addition to clinical research, the CHIC 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. It will also enable and rapidly expand virtual health care models. The CHIC 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 JCU’s CTEC, a research-driven medical facility that has received a $60m Federal Government commitment including a contribution towards acquiring land for the joint facility. The State Government has committed funding for Phase 1 of the project, including $1.5million for a preliminary business case and $15million for land acquisition. Further capital is now sought for CHHHS to progress Phase 1 of the Cairns University Hospital Redevelopment Project, comprising: • Optimising the fit-out of Cairns Hospital to facilitate an extra 80 beds • Designing and constructing the CHIC in partnership with JCU • $3.5m to progress a detailed business case for Phase 1 of the project.
BRIEFING NOTE SUMMARY • Cairns Hospital will be at capacity across all bed types by 2022. • CHHHS is seeking to progress Phase 1 of its Cairns University Hospital Redevelopment Project – comprising an additional 80 beds and establishing the Cairns Health and Innovation Centre (CHIC). • The new CHIC is proposed to be built in partnership with JCU’s Cairns Tropical Enterprise Centre (CTEC), on land adjacent to the Cairns Hospital. • JCU has received a Federal Government commitment of $60m towards CTEC (including land acquisition contribution). • Phase 1 is now progressing, with State Government committing $1.5m for the preliminary business case and $15m for land acquisition. Further funding will be sought following the business case process.
