More patients than ever before are being treated at the Hervey Bay Hospital Emergency Department (ED) thanks to an investment of nearly $45 million by the Palaszczuk Government.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Steven Miles officially opened the new ED building while visiting the hospital today.
The Premier said the new health facility which includes the ground-floor ED and first-floor Clinical Decisions Unit (CDU), as well as state-of-the-art education and training facilities was a huge investment in healthcare for the growing Fraser Coast community.
“We promised to build a new emergency department in Hervey Bay to cater for the region’s growth, now that building is open and treating patients,” the Premier said.
“This new building more than doubles the ED bed capacity and the new education facilities include a 150-seat auditorium and conference room, three training rooms, two high-fidelity simulation training suites and a resource room.
“This new department is helping our hard-working clinicians to deliver among the best emergency care in Queensland, particularly now during this extraordinary flu season.”
The Premier said the vital redevelopment created about 170 construction-related jobs.
“On top of this, the education and training facilities are also an important part of Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service’s ability to attract and retain top-level clinicians,” she said.
“We know attracting a highly skilled workforce can be a challenge in regional areas, but the state-of-the-art learning facilities will go a long way in recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals.
“The new facilities will help skill-up the hardworking doctors, nurses and healthcare clinicians now and in the future.”
Minister Steven Miles said the new building was a significant investment by the Palaszczuk Government, ensuring the Fraser Coast has a public health facility that can cope with ever-growing demand for health care.
“The new ED which has been operating for the past few months is already proving its worth, with the Hervey Bay emergency team consistently improving its performance despite a substantial increase in presentations since it opened,” he said.
“The hardworking clinicians have treated more people within recommended times than ever before.
“In May alone, the ED team saw a 12% increase in presentations compared to last year. The most significant increases were in patients who were triaged as category 2 or 3, often the most complex to diagnose.
“Despite the increase in demand, the team was able to treat 81% of patients within clinically recommended timeframes, and 79% of patients were seen in the ED and either discharged or admitted within the target time of four hours – meaning the vast majority of patients are being seen on time.”
Minister Miles said the Palaszczuk Government was investing a record $644 million for Wide Bay HHS in 2019/20 – $29.8 million more than the year before.
“Since being elected in 2015, we’ve hired 56 more doctors, 131 more nurses and midwives and 16 more clinicians across the Wide Bay region,” he said.
“We’ve worked hard to restore the cuts from the previous LNP who cut 345 health staff from Wide Bay hospitals.”
Fast Facts – Hervey Bay Hospital Emergency Department Building:
- $44.66 million investment by the Palaszczuk Government
- New ground-floor ED, first floor CDU and education and training facilities including 150-seat auditorium and conference room
- The new building more than doubles Hervey Bay Hospital’s emergency department capacity, from 19 to 46 emergency treatment spaces
- The Clinical Decisions Unit has gone from 12 to 24 beds
- Planned for more growth, providing space on the top floor for an inpatient ward for the future.
- 170 construction-related jobs
