Staged construction work on the $46 million redevelopment of the Thursday Island Hospital and Primary Healthcare Centre will get under way from 19 April.
Works at the primary healthcare centre will officially start from 19 April, followed by works at the hospital from the 26 April.
Visiting Thursday Island today, Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D’Ath inspected the hospital and healthcare centre sites prior to the commencement of works
“The first stage of works at the hospital will include a refurbishment of ward areas, construction of a new operating theatre and a staged roof replacement,” she said.
“As part of this process, the inpatient ward at Thursday Island Hospital will be relocated to another part of the hospital to allow works to get under way in the main ward area.
“At the primary healthcare centre (PHCC), the first works will involve construction of a new fire evacuation route and refurbishment of consultation rooms.
“While a core group of staff will remain at the primary healthcare centre, the bulk of staff and services have been relocated offsite for the duration of the redevelopment.
“We expect the Thursday Island PHCC (Sibuwani Ngurpai Meta) redevelopment to be completed in early 2022 – weather permitting.
“This will be followed by the Thursday Island Hospital works in late 2022.”
Principal contractor Hutchinson Builders had been on Thursday Island since mid-March and completed early preparations to pave the way for construction. Member for Cook Cynthia Lui said the works were expected to create around 53 Full Time Equivalent jobs during the period of construction, as well as provide opportunities for local involvement and help boost the local economy.
“The redevelopment of the hospital and primary healthcare centre will improve primary and secondary healthcare in the region,” Ms Lui said.
“The projects also will provide space for future service expansion and enable better integration of health service delivery into the communities across the Torres Strait. “The Palaszczuk Government’s growing investment in Torres and Cape health infrastructure will deliver the improved facilities Queenslanders in this remote part of Queensland need.
The redeveloped Thursday Island Hospital will have 31 inpatient beds, seven emergency department spaces, operating theatre with four recovery spaces, a birthing suite with a birthing pool and additional procedural space that can also be used for emergency birthing.
The hospital also will have five outpatient rooms and an enhanced medical imaging department with space for the future installation of a CT scanner. The number of negative pressure isolation rooms, included among the inpatient beds, would be doubled from one to two, thereby improving safety and boosting the hospital’s capacity to manage tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.
The redeveloped primary healthcare centre, when complete, will offer 22 consultation, treatment and interview rooms, along with five dental surgeries. Minister D’Ath said the Palaszczuk’s Thursday Island health facility upgrades form part of a package of more than $100 million worth of capital projects for the Torres and Cape HHS either recently completed in the past three years, under way, or in the planning stages “This will support the Palaszczuk Government’s goal of Closing the Gap in health outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders and non-Indigenous Queenslander,” the Minister said.
“Our investment on Thursday Island, together with the rest of our multi-million-dollar health investment in the Torres Strait region, will ensure health staff have the highest quality facilities from which to deliver their vital services.”
