- The Crisafulli Government is delivering upgrades to the Gladstone Hospital to restore health services when Queenslanders need them, with a new Transit Lounge now open.
- The new Transit Lounge will tackle ambulance ramping for easier access to the Emergency Department and hospital beds.
- The new facility is part of an $80 million investment in new and expanded transit lounges across the State to heal Labor's Health Crisis.
- The Crisafulli Government is restoring health services where you need them, and a fresh start for Queensland.
The Crisafulli Government is delivering easier access to health services for Central Queenslanders, with improvements to the Gladstone Hospital now open to patients, providing easier access to the Emergency Department and hospital beds.
A new Transit Lounge has been built within the medical/surgical ward to address ambulance ramping, easing pressure on the Gladstone Hospital Emergency Department and restore health services in Central Queenslanders need them most.
The eight-treatment space Transit Lounge will operate seven days a week, allowing patients to leave hospital when they're ready to, with a dedicated space for patients awaiting discharge, admission, transfer, or outpatient appointments.
Eight new frontline health staff will also be hired to support the new Transit Lounge, as part of the Crisafulli Government's commitment to growing Queensland's regional health workforce.
It's one of many Transit Lounges being rolled out across the State as part of an $80 million investment in new or expanded Transit Lounges to ease pressure on Queensland's busy Emergency Departments and deliver health services when you need then, after Labor's Health Crisis.
Labor's decade of decline left a Health Crisis with record ambulance ramping, surging waitlists and a dwindling regional workforce.
Alongside the new Transit Lounge, the Crisafulli Government is also expanding the opening hours of the Gladstone Nurse-led Walk-in Clinic, with an $875,000 funding injection, after the clinic was left underfunded by the former Labor Government.
Premier David Crisafulli said Transit Lounges were helping to restore health services when Queenslanders needed them most.
"This investment in the Gladstone Hospital is just one of the ways we're restoring health services when Queenslanders need them, by easing pressure on our emergency departments so patients can be seen sooner," Premier Crisafulli said.
"This means more Central Queenslanders are able to access the Emergency Department and hospital beds sooner, and fewer ambulances left waiting."
Health and Ambulance Services Minister Tim Nicholls said the Crisafulli Government was restoring health services for Central Queensland, just as promised.
"We stepped in to save this nurse-led clinic, opening it in December 2024 and now we've stepped up again to have it operate seven days a week," Minister Nicholls said.
"The former Labor Government underfunded the clinic and failed to open it in September 2024 as they originally promised."
Expanded operating hours at the clinic commence 16 February, open every day from 7am to 5pm.
Locals with ailments such as coughs and colds, rashes and minor limb injuries can get access to world-class care outside of the hospital emergency department.
