City of Logan Mayor, Darren Power, has called on the Queensland Government to work with the private health sector to help ease the burden on Logan Hospital and state health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at a public hearing at Queensland’s Parliament House on Friday, Mayor Power said options such as subcontracting Queensland Health services to private industry would benefit Logan residents and help attract medical and health investment to the city.
Mayor Power said the trial of a similar model in Brisbane’s north was working well and the time was right to implement something similar in Logan to help ease high demand for health care in the city.
“Council has proactively researched the demand for health services in Logan, and private-public partnerships is the best solution to filling current and future gaps in service delivery,” he said.
“This could be done through private health developments or real estate investment trusts building private health facilities that Queensland Health could potentially lease.
“Another option is subcontracting elective surgery to the private sector.
“Facilities such as day surgeries are currently being developed in Logan, and our proposed arrangements could potentially draw more investment.
“With our population booming and demand on health services increasing, these are practical measures that will create beds, reduce waiting times and provide better access to health care. Without private-public partnerships, the gaps in health care services will get worse.”
He said Queensland Health’s Metro North region has rolled out the Surgical, Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS) hospital project while, the new Mater Health Services project in Springfield will deliver a 174-bed hospital to the satellite city.
With the private health industry already poised to invest heavily in Logan, Mayor Power said now was the perfect opportunity to develop private-public partnerships in our region.
More than 30,000 square metres of private health, medical and related services are expected to be delivered across the city in the short to medium-term, he said. This includes new clinics for specialist services now under construction in Council’s dedicated health and well-being precinct across the road from Logan Hospital in Meadowbrook.
“The Government simply can’t afford to ignore the opportunities private-public partnerships present for improving health care for our region,” Mayor Power said.
“Our success in attracting this health and medical investment did not happen by accident.
“Logan City Council has been proactive in investigating the health sector in Logan, and our economic development team has used this research to approach industry and bring in investment.”
The public hearing was held as part of the Health and Environment Committee’s Inquiry into the provision of primary, allied and private health care, aged care and NDIS care services and its impact on the Queensland public health system.
