Cairns Hospital | |||||||||||
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Queensland Health | |||||||||||
Geography | |||||||||||
Location | 165 The Esplanade, Cairns North, Cairns, Queensland, Australia | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 16°54′44″S145°46′04″E / 16.9122°S 145.7677°E Coordinates: 16°54′44″S145°46′04″E / 16.9122°S 145.7677°E | ||||||||||
Organisation | |||||||||||
Care system | Public Medicare (AU) | ||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||
Emergency department | Yes | ||||||||||
Beds | 531 | ||||||||||
Helipads | |||||||||||
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History | |||||||||||
Opened | 1878 [1] | ||||||||||
Links | |||||||||||
Website | Official Website | ||||||||||
Lists | Hospitals in Australia |
Cairns Hospital, known as the Cairns Base Hospital between 1932 and 2013, [2] is the largest major hospital in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is located at 165 The Esplanade, Cairns North, Cairns. [3] The hospital offers general services to Cairns and surrounding areas, a population of about 250,000 people.
The building complex has a 667-space multi-storey car park with a pedestrian overpass linking it to the rest of the hospital. [1]
In 2011, a shortage of beds for mental health patients meant some were staying for more than 100 hours in the emergency department. [4]
On 3 March 1877, a meeting of residents in Cairns decided to establish a hospital, raising £75 in donations at the meeting and further £35 following the meeting. At that time, the nearest hospital was in Cooktown. [5] [6] In October 1877, the Queensland Government voted to contribute £200 towards a hospital in Cairns. [7] By February 1878, a hospital had been established with a local correspondent describing it as follows: [8]
"We have a commodious hospital here, nicely situated on the beach facing the north, but it seems that Cairns is so healthy that we can't find any inmates for it."
In September 1884, the Queensland Government called for tenders for the construction of a new hospital for Cairns with the contract awarded in November 1883 to H. A. Leisner for £2218. [9] [10]
In 1908 a competition was held for architectural designs of the new Cairns District Hospital. The winner was a two-storey design by Harvey George Draper of Cairns. [11] On 21 August 1910 the foundation stone was laid but it was not until November 1910 that the Queensland Government had negotiated a contract with John Thomas Bulcock to build the new hospital. [12] [13] The hospital was officially opened on 28 July 1912. [14]
The tower blocks were built in the early 1980's and remain in use. Block A was the former surgical building, now repurposed into largely administrative sections, and Block B formerly housed the medical wards, now mainly used for outpatient activity. Inpatients were relocated to D block upon its opening in 2015.
In September 2016 the 7-member board resigned in September 2016 over failure to recoup an $80 million budget deficit, resulting in the hospital being managed by a single administrator Terry Mehan. [15]
The central block was opened in 2005, containing the redeveloped emergency department, intensive care unit and operating theatres. These were relocated from the A and B tower blocks. In 2015, a $454.6 million redevelopment occurred at the hospital, including the introduction of an additional 168 beds. [3] These works increased the total number of beds to 531. It also increased the number of operating theatres to 11. [16]
Cairns is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-populous in Queensland, and 14th in Australia.
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Sir William MacGregor, was a Lieutenant-Governor of British New Guinea, Governor of Newfoundland and Governor of Queensland.
Herberton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Herberton had a population of 855 people.
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The City of Maryborough was a local government area located in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, containing the urban locality of Maryborough as well as the southern half of Fraser Island. The City covered an area of 1,233.9 square kilometres (476.4 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1861 until 2008, when it was amalgamated with the City of Hervey Bay, Shire of Woocoo and the 1st and 2nd divisions of the Shire of Tiaro to form the Fraser Coast Region.
Smithfield is a suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census Smithfield had a population of 5,303 people.
Stratford is a suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Stratford had a population of 1,138 people.
Sydney Barber Josiah Skertchly was an English and later Australian botanist and geologist. He described and mapped the geology of East Anglia and The Fens, travelled the world exploring geology and other aspects of science, and became influential in scientific societies in Queensland.
Ernest James Stevens was an Australian politician and businessman who served as a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly and later Member of the Queensland Legislative Council in colonial Queensland and Australia.
Innot Hot Springs is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Innot Hot Springs had a population of 177 people.
Cairns City is a coastal suburb at the centre of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as the Cairns Central Business District (CBD). In the 2016 census, Cairns City had a population of 2,737 people.
Cairns North is a coastal suburb of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Cairns North had a population of 5,191 people.
Maalan is a locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Maalan had a population of 26 people.
The Bank of North Queensland was formed in 1887 in Townsville with branches in Sydney and London.
Media related to Cairns Base Hospital at Wikimedia Commons