Kingaroy Hospital Infrastructure Upgrade to Deliver South Burnett Residents Improved Health Services
Conrad Gargett-designed upgraded Kingaroy Hospital to open in 2021
Queensland’s South Burnett region, located at the peak of Australia’s Great Dividing Range, north-west of Brisbane, directly west of the Sunshine Coast, is expected to deliver improved healthcare for its residents with the opening of the upgraded Kingaroy Hospital in 2021. The original Kingaroy General Hospital has served the community soundly since it opened 80 years ago, however the original facility is now incompatible with the contemporary models of care. And a growing and ageing population throughout the region, combined with other factors, has increased the requirements for improved health services.
Conrad Gargett was appointed to design and deliver the new modern facility, which comprises health planning, architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture. This process is being undertaken in consultation and collaboration with Queensland Health, Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service, health service plan by CBRE and project stakeholders. Considerable stakeholder engagement, consultation and advice with council, emergency services, community groups, patients and the clinical team has informed the design.
Rebecca Moore, Director of Conrad Gargett, conveyed, “The design of the redeveloped Kingaroy Hospital delivers a state-of-the-art best practice environment to care and serve the South Burnett community into the future.” “The redevelopment supports a more efficient health service delivery, with improved facilities for trauma, paediatric, obstetric, rehabilitation and mental health services.” “This is a challenging redevelopment due to constraints of building the new Clinical Services Building around the existing hospital footprint, however the resultant forecourt that will be created will become a heart for Kingaroy Hospital.”
Key design features include the extension and upgrade to the Emergency Department, redevelopment of perioperative areas, dedicated facilities including a Day of Surgery Admission (DOSA) unit, maternity services upgrade, inpatient and outpatient facilities including specialist consultation rooms, dialysis and new day infusion services, and a Medical Imaging (MI) department. The redevelopment involves the retention of an existing building for adaptive re-use, the demolition of the original main clinical building and the construction of a new Clinical Services Building. A clear sense of transition from surrounds to the grounds and buildings will be delivered. The upgrade is being delivered whilst the existing operational hospital continues to serve the community.
During the design development phases, Conrad Gargett utilised innovative design tools which were positively reviewed by the Board of Darling Downs Hospital and Health Services, as well as the clinician team and local community. Senior Associate Michael Klug explained, “During the consultation process, we utilised virtual reality technology on-site to convey the new hospital spatially. This enabled the stakeholders to devise constructive feedback which was provided to our design team at the commencement of design development.” “At the end of the consultation phase, the Board and local community representatives were invited to “walk through” the final design outcome. This also confirmed that their invaluable feedback had been incorporated into the building design.”
Conrad Gargett holds an over 60 year history of designing and delivering world-renowned healthcare environments. Moore mentioned, “Designing healthcare facilities in regional areas is greatly treasured by our health planners and architects. For many regional towns, the hospital is often one of the largest institutions that underpins the region in terms of support and employment. As hospital designers, our process and response to our clients’ aspirations is the most important aspect of a client experience. We focus on engagement and innovation to create hospital environments that meet the client’s requirements, balanced with a sense of place within the region. We create meaningful places for people.”
