Townsville University Hospital's specialist expansion adds oncology and cardiology unitsUpdated

The federal government has committed $340 million to the expansion of Townsville University Hospital, adding dedicated oncology, cardiology, and neurology units that will allow North Queensland patients to receive a substantially broader range of specialist medical care in Townsville rather than requiring referral to Brisbane for conditions that the expanded facility will be able to treat locally.

Health Minister Mark Butler described the investment as "transformational for healthcare equity in North Queensland," noting that the distance from Townsville to Brisbane — approximately 1,400 kilometres by air — represented a genuine barrier to specialist healthcare access that fell disproportionately on the lower-income households and older patients who found the travel burden most difficult to manage.

The oncology unit will provide radiation therapy and systemic treatment for cancer patients in the expanded service catchment that runs from Townsville north to Cairns and west to Mount Isa, reducing the approximately 800 North Queensland cancer patients per year who currently undertake the Brisbane journey for routine treatment cycles.

Townsville University Hospital chief executive Kieran Keyes said the investment would position the hospital as one of Australia's most comprehensive regional healthcare facilities, noting that the expanded specialist service suite would make Townsville a genuine destination for healthcare professionals who wanted to practice at the frontier of their specialty in a regional context without accepting the service limitations that smaller regional hospitals entail.

Construction is expected to commence in 2027 with a staged delivery schedule targeting the oncology centre opening in 2029 and the cardiology and neurology units following in 2030.

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