Healthy Occasion for City

The State's biggest emergency department was officially opened yesterday with Townsville residents the first to tour the $94 million North Block facility.

The opening marked a major milestone as the first completed stage in the $437 million redevelopment. The new building has increased treatment spaces from 40 to 75 and provide six new short-stay beds. Minister for Health Geoff Wilson said the emergency department includes the latest in medical technology.

Townsville Hospital Emergency Department director Dr Niall Small said the opening had been a long time coming. "It's been almost three years since it's been officially announced and there was a lot of lobbying behind the scenes to get us to where we are today," he said. "We anticipate seeing 65,000 patients through the emergency department, but that will fluctuate."

Mundingburra MP Lindy Nelson-Carr said in addition to the new emergency department, North Block would also be home to a 34-bed maternity ward and an intensive care unit. "North Block will have an expanded intensive care unit allowing for patients who need specialise one-on-one care," she said.

"The area vacated by the existing ICU will be used for a $25 million expansion to the neo-natal intensive care unit. The number of cots to treat seriously ill or premature babies will increase from 32 to 50. "The increased number will allow the unit to cope with the projected 12 per cent per year increase of neo-natal babies treated in Townsville."

Casting a shadow on the opening was opposition Health Minister Mark McArdle who doubted the new emergency department would address the chronic bed shortage for Townsville. "Hospital staff still aren't getting the right pay each week with the cost to fix the health payroll system soaring to $220 million, and Townsville patients still aren't getting access to cancer treatment on time," Mr McArdle said. "It's another monumental planning failure by this long-term Labor government - spend nearly $100 million on the redevelopment, but don't factor in enough beds."

Minister Wilson hit back keen to spruik the additional beds that would be eventually provided as the facility moved through to the next stages of construction. "There's 100 beds extra in the building of this hospital it is simply wrong to say there are no extra beds going into this hospital," he said.

The ED will be open to patients tomorrow at 7am.