General News
15 February, 2024
$4.3 million boost for hospital
Locals are now a step closer to receiving top-notch healthcare, with a multi-millon-dollar grant set to transform the Maryborough hospital’s support services facility. Maryborough District Health Service (MDHS) will soon get a new state-of-the-art...
Locals are now a step closer to receiving top-notch healthcare, with a multi-million-dollar grant set to transform theMaryborough hospital’s support services facility.
Maryborough District Health Service (MDHS) will soon get a new state-of-the-art logistics hub — with the project receiving more than $4.3 million through the State Government’s Regional Health Infrastructure Fund.
The announcement was made by Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas, when she visited Maryborough on Tuesday.
Expanding the health service’s logistics capabilities, the upgraded facility will be critical in meeting the demands of the hospital once its current $115 million redevelopment and expansion is finished.
The project will increase capacity for supplies storage and handling, enhance linen services and improve waste management — with staff safety also expected to improve.
“This grant means that we are going to have a back of house and logistics area that will create efficiencies in a seamless way,” MDHS CEO Nickola Allan said.
“It will add so much value to the final redevelopment. If we didn’t have a logistics area that matches the new hospital then we’d be setting ourselves up for failure.
“Now, we’ll be able to have greater space, greater movement through that facility and so there’ll be greater flow — for me it’s the final link in the chain, in what’s going to be a great hospital.”
Member for Ripon Martha Haylett also welcomed the announcement and said it was a move in the right direction.
“This further investment in Maryborough’s health care services is significant for our region — the new logistics hub will help support the redeveloped hospital in a safe and environmentally friendly way,” she said.
The facility will also include a range of green initiatives to enhance sustainability efforts, including an electrical vehicle charging station to reduce energy use, transport emissions and waste.
Construction of the hub will start soon, and is expected to create and support an additional 24 local construction jobs — with the hospital’s redevelopment slated for completion later this year.
Once operational, it will deliver the best care for the local community closer to home, with new maternity services, an urgent care centre and a 32-bed inpatient unit — which is in addition to a $4 million, 20-bed student accommodation building completed in December last year.