Page 46 - Tropic Magazine Issue 18

TROPIC • HEALTH

Dual-purpose

facility

SOUTH SIDE
Construction on a one-
of-a-kind health centre in
Edmonton will start later
this year.
Words Renee Cluff
the week it’s servicing the community.”
Tenders are being called in July for If a natural disaster looms, the category
construction of the $25 million Cairns five cyclone-rated building will be
South Health Facility, which will service converted into an emergency evacuation
the growing population of the city’s hospital. “In disaster mode, it will
southern corridor while standing by as provide emergency bays, an operating
an evacuation point for Cairns Hospital theatre, birthing and procedure spaces,
during a natural disaster. ambulance bays and a new helipad,”
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Member for Mulgrave Curtis Pitt said.
Health Service chief executive Clare “It’s going to be built at a one in 500
Douglas said on a day-to-day basis, year flood level so it’s a very, very safe
the centre will operate a community area in terms of not having to worry
health clinic and a dialysis service for about inundation.”
renal patients. “I believe this is the first The facility has been in the pipeline
of its kind in Australia,” she said. “This since Cairns Hospital had to be
is not a hospital, this is a very unique evacuated during Cyclone Yasi in 2011,
building built specifically to be an because of the threat of a storm surge. MORE: health.qld.gov.au/
interim emergency service during times More than 200 patients had to be
of disaster and for day-to-day use during transferred to Brisbane. cairns_hinterland

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46 • Tropic • Issue 15