- The Crisafulli Government has delivered a new exciting milestone for Toowoomba Hospital with the installation of four tower cranes.
- Queenslanders have now seen 10 months of delivering under the Crisafulli Government, after 10 years of decline under Labor.
- The new hospital, being delivered as part of the fully funded Hospital Rescue Plan, will include at least 538 overnight beds, expanded emergency, surgical, and diagnostic facilities, plus a multi-storey car park.
- School students are invited to take part in the Name the Crane competition.
- The Crisafulli Government's Easier Access to Health Services Plan is helping to diagnose, treat and cure Labor's Health Crisis by delivering more healthcare closer to home.
The Crisafulli Government's Hospital Rescue Plan is delivering new heights for Toowoomba, with four tower cranes now dominating the skyline at the new Toowoomba Hospital work site.
After 10 months, the Crisafulli Government is getting on with the job of delivering the new hospital the Darling Downs region deserves after a decade of decline under Labor.
Work is progressing on the key fully funded Hospital Rescue Plan project, after a scathing independent report earlier this year exposed the former Labor Government's mishandling of the project, leading to a cost blowout from $1.3 billion to $1.98 billion.
The report found the former Labor Government had planned to split health services in Toowoomba, with some services to be kept at the old 1960s-era hospital, despite the old facility being labelled "an end of useful life asset".
Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Tim Nicholls said the Crisafulli Government had listened to local clinicians and health workers to ensure the new hospital would provide all the services needed for the growing region in one central spot, in line with its Easier Access to Health Services Plan.
"The Crisafulli Government is working through Labor's legacy of crisis and chaos and is getting on with the job of delivering a much-needed new hospital for Toowoomba and the Darling Downs as part of the fully funded Hospital Rescue Plan," Minister Nicholls said.
"The new Toowoomba Hospital will deliver more beds, more services, and better facilities, ensuring people can access world-class care closer to home."
Treasurer and Member for Toowoomba South David Janetzki said the new hospital would give locals from across the region access to a range of new facilities and health services.
"The Crisafulli Government will deliver a hospital that Toowoomba deserves – this would never have happened under Labor," Mr Janetzki said.
"Through our Easier Access to Health Services Plan we want to provide those living in the Darling Downs and beyond with high-quality health care close to home.
"One of the key features of the new Toowoomba Hospital is its cardiac catheterisation lab, which will be the first publicly available service of its kind in the region, giving local patients access to critical cardiac care without needing to rely on private facilities."
Member for Toowoomba North Trevor Watts said the new hospital would also include expanded emergency and operating departments, a cardiac catheter lab, additional dialysis spaces, and improved outpatient, diagnostic and imaging services.
"Co-located with the new Bunya Day Surgery, the new hospital will have additional theatre capacity and support the government's efforts to improve surgery wait times," Mr Watts said.
Member for Condamine Pat Weir said to celebrate the new phase of the new Toowoomba Hospital build a Name the Crane competition had been launched, open to local school students.
"We are inviting local primary school students to participate in a competition to name the cranes that will help build the region's newest world-class health facility," Mr Weir said.
"It's a fun way for our students to get involved in this project which will deliver modern healthcare for years to come."
Students are encouraged to submit a name for each of the cranes, along with a short explanation (25 words or less) about why their chosen name is the perfect fit.
