The Queensland government has awarded $1.17 billion to expand two hospitals in the southeast with the aim of supplying more than 300 new beds and increasing surgical capacity.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles and new Health Minister Shannon Fentiman made the announcement at the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital in Brisbane’s south, which will receive a $465 million expansion.
Built Qld was awarded the contract to deliver 112 additional beds at QEII Jubilee Hospital.
Ms Fentiman said the expansion would significantly boost capacity for in-demand elective surgeries through a new dedicated building and would help meet the growing demand for health services on Brisbane’s southside.
“If you talk to the amazing frontline health workers, they will tell you what they need is beds and that is what we are delivering,” Ms Fentiman said on Tuesday.
BESIX Watpac Qld was awarded a $710m contract for the Ipswich Hospital stage 2 expansion to deliver an additional 200 beds.
The Ipswich expansion will also include a new purpose-built acute clinical service building, a new emergency department, six additional operating theatres, satellite medical imaging service and a new central sterilisation service department.
Mr Miles said the two expansion projects combined would create 2800 jobs.
The announcement follows $1.38b in contracts for hospital expansions announced in Logan, Brisbane, Cairns and Mackay.
“This month alone $2.55b worth of contracts for 897 beds right across the state have been awarded,” Mr Miles said.
Metro South Hospital and Health Service acting chief executive Noelle Cridland said the QEII Jubilee Hospital expansion was a huge win for the Brisbane southside community.
“This major expansion, together with the $25m rapid expansion which is already under way, will increase bed capacity at QEII Hospital by more than half,” Ms Cridland said.
West Moreton Health chief executive Hannah Bloch said Ipswich Hospital would see a “substantial transformation” with the new works being in addition to a satellite hospital and mental health unit that will open later this year.