{"id":153222,"date":"2016-07-29T18:52:34","date_gmt":"2016-07-29T08:52:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=153222"},"modified":"2020-10-08T16:07:25","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T06:07:25","slug":"new-hospital-still-top-priority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2016\/07\/29\/new-hospital-still-top-priority\/","title":{"rendered":"New Hospital ‘Still Top Priority’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kingaroy Hospital … a new hospital is still the “number one priority” of the\u00a0Darling Downs Hospital and Health Board<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

July 29, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Anne Miller<\/strong><\/p>\n

A proposal for the redevelopment of Kingaroy Hospital appeared suddenly on a State Government website this week … but residents eager to consign the current hospital to the dustbin of history shouldn’t get their hopes up too high quite yet.<\/p>\n

The Building Queensland website published a “proposal summary” for the hospital, listing current problems at the site and a description of a proposal to meet these gaps.<\/p>\n

It stated that a “preliminary evaluation” was under way with a completion date for this first step at the end of this year.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service (DDHHS) said on Friday that a new public hospital for Kingaroy remained the Board\u2019s number one priority<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The spokesperson said DDHHS staff were working through a process which was determined by Queensland Health\u2019s Investment Review Committee (IRC).<\/p>\n

“The IRC provides independent advice to the Director-General about whether capital funding should go ahead from an investment perspective,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

“The development of a detailed business case articulating possible options for a new Kingaroy Hospital is the next step in the process and is underway.<\/p>\n

“At this stage of the planning and approvals process, final details are not available with respect to the number of beds or the cost of the project and concept drawings are yet to be developed.<\/p>\n

“It is anticipated that the business case will be submitted for consideration in late 2016.<\/p>\n

“A new Kingaroy Hospital is subject to approval and funding from the Department of Health.”<\/p>\n

southburnett.com.au understands that one of the options under consideration involves utilising the current building for some health services while constructing a new hospital building and main entrance at the rear.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This proposal should cost less than the $80 million figure\u00a0previously discussed.<\/p>\n