NPARC Mayor Robert Poi Poi, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Leeaane Enoch, TSC Mayor Elsie Seriat, TSRA Chairperson Pedro Stephen, Member for Cook Cynthia Lui and TSIRC Mayor Phillemon Mosby celebrate the official opening of the $55 million Thursday Island Hospital redevelopment on 27 September. Photo: Supplied.
Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Leeanne Enoch and Member for Cook Cynthia Lui made a stopover in the Torres Strait as part of a pre-caretaker mode northern tour to officially open the upgraded Thursday Island Hospital on 27 September.
The $55.8 million upgrade has been staged over the past three years to minimise service disruption and was completed earlier this year, with a special blessing held in the new emergency department on 4 July to welcome the first patients.
The redevelopment includes a new maternity unit and extensive works on the inpatient unit, pathology, and operating theatre, along with provision of a second negative pressure isolation room to boost capacity to manage infectious diseases.
A new central sterile supply department was also constructed, as well as space within the medical imaging department for the new CT scanner, which scanned its first patients in December 2023.
As part of the redevelopment, Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service also commissioned local Indigenous artworks for installation in the hospital and at the Sibuwanay Ngurpay Meta (Thursday Island primary healthcare centre), with 13 individual pieces from five First Nations artists currently on display.
Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Services Shannon Fentiman said the completion of the three-year redevelopment was a significant win for the Torres Strait.
“This is such an exciting milestone for the community, and I know staff and locals have been loving the beautiful new space and artworks,” she said.
“As the Ministerial Torres Champion, I couldn’t be prouder of our government’s commitment to delivering the best possible health facilities for residents across the Torres Strait Islands.”
Minister Enoch described the new-look hospital as being “absolutely key to closing the health gap for indigenous Australians”, while Ms Lui said the upgrade would allow more Torres Strait residents to receive medical treatment locally.
“The hospital and primary healthcare centre projects on Thursday Island are delivering improvements in terms of design layout, construction materials and access to digital technology,’’ she said.
“They also increase the capacity of both facilities to deliver more and improved services, thereby allowing patients and clients to access services closer to home and limit the need to travel elsewhere for healthcare.”
