August 23, 2012
Essential fire safety issues at Kingaroy Hospital will be rectified and a master plan prepared for a new main block in a $2m overhaul announced today by the State Government.
The announcement follows the release by Health Minister Lawrence Springborg of a damning report on the state of disrepair at the hospital which he said had had sat, unactioned, in the office of two previous Health Ministers since 2010.
Mr Springborg said Queensland Health had completed a rural and remote infrastructure report in late 2010 which identified 12 hospitals, including Kingaroy Hospital, in need of critical maintenance and repair due to their ageing infrastructure.
“The former Labor Government chose not to act on this damning assessment, instead choosing to allow it to sit in the bowels of the Department gathering dust,” Mr Springborg said.
Mr Springborg said the report had remained hidden as Labor did not want the public to be aware of the massive repair bill.
“Instead, peripheral maintenance activities were allowed to go on in order to paper over the cracks and keep the report out of the public domain,” he said.
As well as Kingaroy Hospital, the report also identified the hospitals at Atherton, Ayr, Biloela, Charleville, Charters Towers, Emerald, Longreach, Mareeba, Roma, Sarina and Thursday Island as requiring immediate works to remain safe and functional while medium to longer-term planning for their futures were finalised.
“I am announcing today the Kingaroy Hospital will undergo $2 million of works which will include preparing a master plan for a new main block and updating essential fire safety issues,” Mr Springborg said.
“Rather than ignoring the critical infrastructure needs of rural and regional Queenslanders, the LNP Government will ensure these communities benefit from a share in $51.58 million worth of upgrades and improvements being announced today.
“Many of the hospitals identified in this hidden report are buildings that are 60 years or older. They often have inefficient or out-dated layouts preventing the implementation of efficient contemporary models of service delivery.
“The additional $51.58 million we propose to spend during the next 12 months will ensure these hospitals are brought up to a standard where they can continue to function safely in the short to medium term and deliver on the LNP Government’s commitment to improve and upgrade health services in country areas.
“I am confident that the proposed $51.58 million worth of works will ensure these 12 country hospitals can continue to serve their communities safely and well.
“The Queensland Government is committed to providing rural and remote communities with access to high quality, safe and sustainable health services close to where people live.”
