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6:02AM Sunday 05 July, 2009

Hospital prepares for growing Coast

4 September 2008

| By Blythe Seinor

Picture every man, woman and child living on the Sunshine Coast.

That’s a lot of people, right?

Well, that’s how many patients have been treated at Noosa Hospital since it opened its doors on September 1, 1999.

The hospital celebrated its ninth birthday this week, and CEO James Thiedeman said things were only going to get bigger and better.

“Given the significant population growth on the Sunshine Coast, it will be necessary to expand the facility in the next few years,” Mr Thiedeman said.

“Ramsay Health Care (Noosa Hospital’s operator) is currently in discussions with Queensland Health to ensure any expansion fits in with the overall future hospital service plans for the Sunshine Coast.”

Mr Thiedeman said one of the biggest challenges the hospital would face in the future would be to recruit and retain adequate staff.

“As our population ages and more and more of us require hospital care it is becoming increasingly challenging to recruit enough doctors, nurses and other clinical staff,” he said.

However, Mr Thiedeman said it was less of a problem in Noosa than elsewhere because of its enviable location.

“That said, there are specific specialties where there continues to be a national and indeed global shortage of appropriately trained doctors.

“Unfortunately this problem will continue for a number of years.”

One of five staff current members at Noosa Hospital are part of the original team.

Mr Thiedeman said the establishment of an intensive care unit was one of the hospital’s great achievements.

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