Mater Health
Mater Private Hospital Maternity and Renal Projects
Mater's purpose-built maternity suite and upgraded renal services will provide modern facilities, and growing capacity to meet community demand and local population growth.
Investment Decision
September 2023
Sector
Social Infrastructure
Location
Townsville, QLD (Gurambilbarra)
LOAN DETAILS
NAIF Loan Amount up to
$25m
Total Project Value
$34m
Length of Loan
17 years
PUBLIC BENEFIT
$46.5m
Forecast Jobs
181
Project Status
Investment Decision
NAIF's loan will be used to construct a new single level purpose-built maternity suite and refurbish an existing building to house renal services. The modern facilities will ensure a growing renal capacity to meet community demand and local population growth.
About Mater Health
With 19 hospitals and 34 health service locations across Queensland, Mater Health provides compassionate healthcare in response to changing community needs.
Mater Health collaborates with Mater Research and Mater Education to develop new methods, practices and techniques for better patient outcomes.
An integral part of the Mater Health network, the hospital has a rich history and is strongly committed to providing superior medical services in the region.
Mater Private Hospital Townsville’s state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge technology, and team of highly skilled medical professionals make it a leading healthcare destination. The hospital's patient-centric approach, coupled with a focus on innovation and continuous improvement, ensures that individuals receive the highest standard of care.
Project Overview
The project comprises a single level purpose-built maternity suite and the refurbishment of an existing building to house renal services. It also involves transferring the maternity and renal services from Hyde Park to Pimlico campus, thereby providing modern facilities, and growing renal capacity to meet community demand and local population growth.
How We Helped
NAIF’s loan of $25 million will improve healthcare facilities in the Townsville region . Access to adequate healthcare facilities often attracts families to the region, leading to a more economically active population. By reducing the demand on public health services, the project is set to deliver a range of socio-economic benefits to the community, The project also supports the goal of building Indigenous career pathways for aspiring students or adults interested in a career at Mater Private Hospital Townsville or healthcare through Mater Education and Mater Health.
Public Impact
The project will reduce demand on public health services and will drive a range of unquantified socio-economic benefits to the community including:
- increased standard of care for maternity services which will now be co-located with critical care services;
- increased access to renal dialysis health services;
- enhanced health service efficiency and sector growth; and
- improved patient satisfaction.
The savings to the public health system was quantified at $15.7m however the estimate does not include these non-quantifiable benefits noted above.
Related Links
Indigenous Engagement
Traditional owners of this land
- Wulgurukaba people
The Wulgurukaba people are the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Mater Private Hospital Townsville is located. The Wulgurukaba people’s lands cover most of the urban core of the City of Townsville, north of the Ross River, and extend north towards the locality of Rollingstone.
The Wulgurukaba people also inhabited nearby Magnetic Island and used canoes (Wulgurukaba means canoe people) to traverse the waters of Cleveland Bay. Wulgurukaba referred to their country around the City of Townsville as Gurambilbarra, while they referred to Magnetic Island as Yunbenun.
Indigenous Engagement Strategy Commitments
- The IES for the Maternity and Renal Unit Project will build on and enhance from the existing work generated by the previous Investment Decision for the Mater car park IES, continuing with their long-term focus on building Indigenous career pathways for aspiring students or adults interested in a career at Mater or healthcare through Mater Education and Mater Health.
- The role at MPHT of Indigenous Liaison Officer is to be expanded and provided with increased resources. This will enhance engagement with their outreach programs engaging the local Indigenous communities across the Townsville region and Palm Island, including pathways into the health sector aimed at local Indigenous students.
- Enabling accredited training, career pathways and opportunities into the health sector aimed at the local Indigenous community will help alleviate pressures on local health services including the Townsville Aboriginal and Islanders Health Service. Additionally, increasing access to renal dialysis in the region will have an impact in reducing the pressure on existing public facilities at the Townsville University Hospital (TUH) as well as reducing wait times to access dialysis. This will help improve quality of life for Indigenous people suffering from diabetes in the North Queensland region.
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Similarly, the Maternity Unit offers increased access to neo-natal treatment in the North Queensland region, which is currently not available in neighbouring Indigenous communities such as Palm Island.
