There are so many reasons why I am proud to serve as the Member for Waterford, and having Logan Hospital situated in the heart of my electorate is undoubtedly one of them.
The amazing team of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals deliver life-saving services to people across our city and it will soon be delivering even more.
Over the last two budgets, we’ve made a record investment of more than $1.1 billion towards expanding Logan Hospital.
I’m fortunate enough to have seen firsthand the extraordinary works being done to the site – and I’m sure that we have all seen the cranes lighting up the Loganlea skyline.
In 1990, when he opened Logan Hospital, then-Premier Wayne Goss remarked that the area’s population growth was so rapid that even upon completion, there were already plans to expand the hospital.
While initially a 45-bed community hospital, by 1993 the healthcare hub had tripled in size and has continued to grow to almost 500 beds – with an additional 200 on the way.
Last week I visited the hospital with Member for Logan Linus Power MP and Member for Macalister Melissa McMahon MP.
We saw the latest addition to the maternity and delivery capabilities at the hospital, including the new birthing pools, new spaces for partners to stay overnight, and Special Care Nursery facilities.
These services will ensure Logan Hospital continues to grow with the community it serves, even as we see an explosion of growth between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
And it goes hand in hand with the Queensland government’s announcement this week of an extra 834 new junior doctors and 200 new ambulance personnel starting their career in medicine across the state.
We now see this commitment to health at the federal level as well, with the federal government indicating that the Strengthening Medicare taskforce report will be handed down shortly with a $750 million commitment to enact the taskforce’s recommendations.
Whether it is at the state or federal level, the state and federal governments are fighting for your health. I look forward to continuing to hear from the community around how healthcare services can be improved across Logan.
