Well 2013 is well and truly here and many of you are no doubt back at work and focussed on the forthcoming year…we certainly are! There are lots of exciting things happening in our region in the very near future that create compelling reasons to be positive about investing and living here, none more so than the Sunshine Coast University Hospital (SCUH).
A lot has been reported about this massive infrastructure project (in fact, the largest ever undertaken in our region), and with good reason – it is an absolutely titanic public works project with knock on benefits and opportunities that will be ongoing as it expands.
Opening in late 2016 on a 20 hectare site, below is a snapshot of some interesting facts about the SCUH:
• 450 bed public hospital in 2016, growing to 738 by 2021
• Includes Skills, Academic and Research Centre (SARC)
• Over 3,500 staff when SCUH opens in 2016, growing to about 6,000 in 2021
• Recruiting 2,500 new staff to the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service by 2016
• Between 1800-2000 construction workers on site at peak
• 15,000 visitors to the health precinct each day
• The primary courtyard will be approximately the size of two Olympic swimming pools
• A 100 place childcare centre will be built on the grounds
• Patients will enjoy coastal, mountain and river views
• 10,000 patients a year will no longer need to travel to Brisbane for treatment
In addition, there is a co-located private hospital (the Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital):
• Owned and operated by Ramsay Health Care
• 200 beds in total
• Opening 2013
• Providing services to public patients between 2013 and 2018 while SCUH is built and commissioned
• Over 600 staff when open
• Over 250 construction jobs
What a marvellous and much needed amenity for our region, creating strong employment growth, first class training facilities for medical students and a new thriving community based inside and outside the hospital precinct.
Amber 🙂