Information Response_010616 · MCU15/0122

        o   There are no other specialist centres in the Noosa area of the nature proposed on the
            subject site, and the proposed development co-located with the hospital will bring to
            Noosa and to the Noosa community a level of health service experienced by other
            communities on the Sunshine Coast. There is a clear shift in the co-location of health care
            services as is the case in the new Sunshine Coast University Hospital Precinct in Kawana
            and in Nambour. Economic and operational efficiencies will be generated for the Noosa
            Hospital and the specialist centre as a result of the co-location of these health care
            facilities. There is a clear amalgam of attraction for health care facilities in benefiting from
            co-location.

        o   There are substantial operational efficiencies for staff and patients alike as a result of the
            co-location of health care and specialist suites with the Hospital offering opportunities for
            specialists to transfer more efficiently between their suites and the Noosa Hospital.

        o   The development of a specialist suite co-located with the Noosa Hospital presents the
            opportunity for Noosa to attract greater depth of visiting and locally based specialist
            services contributing to the overall wellbeing of the Noosa community.

On this basis, Urban Economics concludes that there are clear operational and technical needs for the
co-location of health care facilities that will have significant economic and community benefits for the
Noosa community in creating a specialist health care precinct and will bring to the Noosa community a
level of service available throughout other areas of the Sunshine Coast.


2. Provide the supplementary independent healthcare report mentioned in Noosa Radiology’s letter
    dated 17/12/15 (Attachment 1 to the Development Assessment Report).

Response:
Please refer attached supplementary healthcare advice prepared by Wayne Judkins, The Imaging
Consultant included within Attachment 2, which further supports the benefits and need for colocation
of the proposed medical centre (providing for the expansion of Noosa Radiology) with the Noosa
Hospital. Attachment 2 also includes letters of support for the proposed medical centre (which will
include PET scanning, angiography, and stress echocardiography) from the Noosa Hospital and local
medical practitioners.


3. To the extent a need to co-locate a new medical centre is identified provide comment on why it
    could not or should not be established on the Noosa Hospital site.

Response:
Refer correspondences from Urban Economic included within Attachment 1. The correspondence
indicates (inter alia):

   The 2013-14 Ramsay Healthcare Noosa Hospital Annual Report outlines the capital investment
    program for the hospital which lists refurbishments and equipment purchases however:
    “We are dedicated to overcoming the challenges posed by our facility including limited space
    availability and look forward to a decision about the hospital’s future so that Ramsay Health Care
    may commit to funding a capital works program and the building of new pavilions.”

   The Noosa Hospital operates under a Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) scheme in partnership
    with QLD Government until June 2020. As a commercial for profit provider, Ramsay Healthcare is
    not required to accommodate third-party developments and would be contractually limited on
    land owned by the State that is governed by an ongoing service agreement.

   Despite being approximately 7.57ha in area, the Hospital site includes a significant proportion
    (approximately 2.18ha or 29%) which is designated ‘Open Space Conservation’ that is not intended
    or designated for further expansion of the Hospital.

The Needs Analysis demonstrated a clear and pressing need for the expansion of specialist services
including the need for expansion of Noosa Radiology to meet current and future patient needs.