Springfield’s Mater Private Hospital officially opens its doors to patients
The $85 million first stage of the Mater Private Hospital development in Springfield is now officially open and ready for its first inpatients.
Representing Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Treasurer Curtis Pitt said it was more than a traditional hospital, that it would be the hub of Springfield’s health-related care, education, research and employment.
“Developed as part of Mater’s masterplan for a hospital precinct within Health City Springfield Central, this is just the start of a number of expansion stages to be rolled out to meet the demands of the region,” Mr Pitt said.
“Stage one of this development is an 80-bed, $85 million hospital which includes four digitally integrated operating theatres, day surgery unit and a cancer care centre.
“I want to congratulate everyone involved in making this project a reality for getting the balance right between community health and economic progress right – from Springfield Land Corporation, local council and Mater Health Services to the architects and workers who I met on site here in July.
“It’s a privilege to open this fantastic hospital on behalf of the Premier and to be part of ensuring health facilities meet the growing demands of Greater Springfield.
Minister for Health and Ambulance Services, Cameron Dick said Greater Springfield was the largest masterplanned city in Australia.
“The Greater Springfield community is already home to 30,000 residents and by 2030 this number is expect grow to more than 105,000 residents” Minister Dick said.
“The attention to planning in the design, construction and delivery of this state-of-the-art facility has been truly innovative from the start but the end result is all about patient care.
“Every room has a fold-away bed, there are no set visiting hours for family-centred care, rooms have individual climate control capabilities and there’s a dietician-approved menu which will end jokes about the quality of hospital food.”
Mr Pitt said he was thrilled that 70 per cent of hospital employees lived in the Greater Springfield area, off the back of yesterday’s ABS data release highlighted the strength of employment growth in Queensland since Labor was elected.
“We’re ending 2015 with ABS data showing an extra 50,800 new jobs have been created in Queensland since the election, with the State’s unemployment rate hitting a near two-year low,” Mr Pitt said.
“Springfield is a shining example of how confidence has returned to Queensland as the Palaszczuk Government builds our economy.
“We’ll be starting 2015 in fighting position, with unemployment now 0.5 per cent lower than when the reckless LNP government was removed from office
“The ABS data is backed up by positive reports this week from Westpac, the National Australia Bank and Deloitte’s all reporting a return of confidence to Queensland under our Government’s positive economic agenda.
“Consumer confidence is up, business confidence is up and because companies now have the confidence of a stable economy post-LNP they are willing to put on new workers and explore new commercial opportunities.
“In fact the Palaszczuk Government’s open to any innovative new projects that could generate jobs and I encourage ideas to be submitted through our market-led proposal process.
“So I’m hoping to see many more projects like Springfield’s Mater Private Hospital getting underway right around Queensland next year.”
Source: News Release, Queensland Government, 11 December, 2015