JCU welcomes LNP commitment for Cairns University Hospital

“JCU is committed to partnering with the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service to transition Cairns Hospital to University Hospital status, and we welcome this commitment to funding Stage One of that development,” JCU’s Cairns Campus Director Dr David Craig said.

“This is a transformational development for the Far Northern region in terms of the health service, our health workforce, and new career and education opportunities.”

The University has previously secured bipartisan support at the Federal level, with $60M in Federal Government support for the Cairns Tropical Enterprise Centre (CTEC), to be built in the Cairns city area alongside the Cairns Health Innovation Precinct.

“This is a true partnership – it’s not something we can do alone,”  Dr Craig said. “CTEC and CHIP will support the Hospital’s growth, and the Hospital’s transition to University Hospital status will support the expansion of JCU’s teaching and research.”

“CTEC will be a multi-disciplinary centre of research and education and is a crucial step in the development of the Cairns University Hospital,” Dr Craig said.

“It will enable us to relocate our Clinical School, which is currently home base for 178 later-year medical students, from the Hospital to new purpose-built facilities.

“This will free up precious space needed by the Hospital as it builds towards University Hospital status. Pending Federal approval of additional places, it will also enable us to offer all five years of our medical degree in Cairns, as well as expanding the range of allied health courses offered in Cairns.”

“This project is essential not just to growing our regional health and medical workforce, but also to creating regional jobs in research and innovation.

“CTEC will be multi-disciplinary: in addition to medical and health-related programs, it will be a centre of research and education in areas including data science and Internet of Things research, applying cutting-edge technology to the challenges facing health and medical professionals and their remote, rural and Indigenous patients.”