Medical education gets boost in Rockhampton

UQ’s School of Medicine Rural Clinical Division is set to boast the best medical education facilities outside southeast Queensland, after reaching agreement with Queenland Health to build academic and residential facilities in Rockhampton.

Queensland Health Minister, Gordon Nuttall, has agreed to allow the lease of a 4,000 square metre corner of the Rockhampton Base Hospital campus for the development of a purpose-built student accommodation building.

The Minister has also given in-principle approval to the construction of a multi-purpose teaching and learning resource centre within the hospital complex. The multi-million dollar projects will be funded through the Commonwealth Government’s rural clinical school program, an initiative of the Regional Health Strategy.

Rockhampton is the operational hub for the Rural Clinical Division which currently provides clinical training to 30 medical students across a network of hospitals, GP surgeries and community medical centres in locations throughout Central Queensland.

“We are delighted with this outcome, and look forward to working in partnership with our health department colleagues – both State and Commonwealth – to get more doctors to take up practice, and to want to stay, in Central Queensland,” the School of Medicine’s Acting Head of Region, Dr Llew Davies said.

Media: For more information, contact the acting head of the UQ School of Medicine (Central Queensland region) Dr Llew Davies on (07) 4920-7391.