Business
16 March, 2024
Atherton close to his heart
DURING his reign as Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service chairman, Clive Skarott and the board has attracted hundreds of millions in funding for new services and buildings.
But his proudest was the $86.4 million redevelopment of Atherton Hospital.
“I was born in the Atherton Hospital. And to me, the Atherton Hospital was very long overdue to be updated.
“When I walk through the hospital and saw the number of times you had to walk up and down stairs which were connecting things together, it wouldn’t be easy for our staff to walk between buildings – particularly in the middle of the night, or during emergencies.
“Now, the Tablelands have a hospital they can be proud of: a brand new emergency department, maternity ward, general medical ward, new main entrance, new operating theatres, greater emergency access, new patient drop-off and pick-up zones, new medical imaging, better peace and privacy, and finally – an architecturally stunning building.”
Other projects include: the Cairns Hospital expansion project ($250m), the new mental health unit at Cairns Hospital ($70m), the Cairns Hospital emergency department expansion ($26.4m), Cow Bay’s long-awaited primary health centre upgrade ($14.8m), the Cairns Health Innovation Centre ($4.65m for the business case), the sub-acute care unit at Oregon St, the pre-admission clinic at Cairns Hospital ($1.5m), Tully Hospital emergency department upgrade ($4.6m), Mossman Hospital emergency department upgrade ($9.9m), Mareeba Hospital medical imaging department upgrade ($5m), Cairns South Community Health Facility ($14.9m), the Youth Step Up Step Down residential facility ($9.1m) and new cardiac catheter laboratories for Cairns Hospital ($2.8m).
