The Hervey Bay Hospital Expansion has officially opened, and is the first such expansion to be delivered under the Queensland Government’s Hospital Rescue Plan.
The significant expansion, located in one of the most popular and fastest-growing areas in Queensland includes a 10-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a new 25-bed medical ward, an additional lift and a rooftop helipad to provide critical access for patients.
With the helipad now just 35 metres from the helipad lift lobby, providing , direct access via the lift, it will make a huge difference for patients who need urgent treatment.
Previously, the helipad was at ground level, and was 120 metres away.
One of the most popular and fastest-growing regions in the state, residents of Hervey Bay and surrounding areas have been supportive of the expansion, which has been completed on time and under budget.
The new expansion was achieved by transforming vacant space on Level 2 of the hospital’s Emergency Department building.
Visitors to the hospital haven’t been forgotten either, with an increase in parking spaces which now number almost 1,000, located alongside the hospital.
Director of Medical Services Dr Christopher Zappala said the new ICU is a great asset to the Hervey Bay community.
“We have well more than 1,000 admissions per year in our intensive care department. It's really busy,” Dr Zappala said.
“Our population's growing quite considerably, so we anticipate that the need for patients to receive critical care and high-level care in our intensive care department will increase and this unit is going to be well-placed to provide them with that.
We now have more beds, more space, better workspaces for our clinicians, and so hopefully that will enable our staff to continue to deliver really good outcomes for those particularly unwell patients.
The Queensland Government’s Hospital Rescue Plan is set to deliver three new and 10 expanded hospitals, and the Hervey Bay expansion is the first to open the doors to the public.
Find out more about the Hospital Rescue Plan here.
Photos courtesy of Apollo Property Group