A satellite hospital has been promised for Beenleigh if the Labor state government is re-elected this October.
It’s a move that local MPs hope will alleviate pressure on Logan Hospital, which has one of the busiest emergency departments in the state and a history of ambulance ramping.
Local mums like Fiona Rowe hoped the satellite hospital changed the way families accessed healthcare.
“I have amazing hopes and dreams for this,” Ms Rowe, a Beenleigh resident of 20 years said.
“I feel like we can really make this a service that is safe for people – they know they can come here, and they know they’ll be cared for.
“It is the difference between accessing and being able to afford to even get to a health service.”
The $78 million hospital will include a minor injury and illness clinic to deliver walk-ins and urgent care.
A location has not yet been earmarked; however, the government is looking at both state- and privately-owned land that could be put to better use.
The election promise was made a week after the government announced a brand-new emergency hub for the police and ambulance services at Beenleigh.
Both projects are to prepare emergency services for the growth boom anticipated to hit the area over the next 20 years.
Macalister MP Melissa McMahon said the satellite hospital would be a “gamechanger”.
She said new families in Macalister struggled to find a GP that wasn’t fully booked.
“So having something like the satellite hospital is a gamechanger,” Ms McMahon said.
“Beenleigh is changing – new police stations, new ambulance stations, new train stations, and alongside it will sit this government’s satellite hospital.
“Whether you’re in Beenleigh, the surrounding suburbs or the northern Gold Coast, this is going to be the closest walk-in health service available for you and all you’re going to need is your healthcare card.”
Health minister and Waterford MP Shannon Fentiman said the satellite hospitals would be installed at high growth areas.
“And also, where we are finding it difficult to get same-day GP appointments,” Ms Fentiman said.
“People in Beenleigh are doing it pretty tough right now.
“Sometimes it’s the difference between paying to see a GP on the same day that you need it or putting food on the table.”
She said it was essential residents can access free healthcare close to home.
She said data from the state’s other satellite hospitals, including one at Eight Mile Plains, showed 96 per cent of patients at the minor injury clinics were triaged, treated, and discharged within four hours.
Wait times at Logan Hospital have historically been among the worst in the state, according to government data, reaching highs of eight hours several times throughout last year.
Wait times reached seven hours even more frequently, while capacity at the hospital was highly strained at least four times.
