For residents and future residents of the Gold Coast, health services in the region are about to be upgraded dramatically.
For doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, dentists and health professionals across the board, employment opportunities will be expanded significantly.
For health students, the training environment on the Gold Coast will be second to none on the completion of the Health and Knowledge Precinct.
At its heart will be the new $1.76 billion Gold Coast University Hospital, a full-scale tertiary centre that will replace the existing Gold Coast Hospital in Southport. It is envisaged that GCUH will provide top grade treatment for patients while also offering world class facilities for health research and teaching.
The 750-bed hospital will increase by 66 per cent the number of public, overnight beds available on the Gold Coast, one of the country’s fastest growing cities.
The Hospital’s emergency department will be four times larger than the existing emergency department at Southport, and will be supported by a new medical assessment unit.
New services including radiotherapy, neuroscience and cardiac surgery will open the door for students of medicine, pharmacology, dentistry, nursing and public health to train in a genuine, medical environment.
The magnificent hospital, covering 20 hectares and with a floor space the size of 25 rugby fields, will be linked to the greater Gold Coast region by a new light rail service on its doorstep.