Future focus

Our vision is for a robust hospital and health service that includes fit-for-purpose spaces, multi-disciplinary health services, research, education and community partnerships.

West Moreton has the highest population growth in Queensland with the population across Somerset, Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley and Ipswich expected to almost double to more than 588,000 by 2036.

As the West Moreton community expands, we are committed to transforming and optimising our care through service redesign, research and innovation to continue to meet the healthcare needs of our growing and diverse community.

West Moreton Health has developed a staged approach to delivering new infrastructure, services and models of care in a co-design partnership with our staff, community and other healthcare providers.

Ipswich Hospital Expansion Stage 1

The Queensland Government has provided $146.3 million under the Building Better Hospitals program to develop the first stage of the Ipswich Hospital Expansion.

The staged development is responding to the significant growth in demand for healthcare by bringing our Ipswich-based acute, non-acute, outpatient and community services together in modern facilities with state-of-the-art medical equipment.

Our Stage 1 projects have included:

  • an expansion of Ipswich Hospital that created:
    • a 26-bed medical and surgical ward
    • Allied Health Services Outpatient Unit
    • Oncology Day Unit
  • construction of the new Mental Health Acute Inpatient Service on Chelmsford Ave
  • a state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging suite at Ipswich Hospital.
Mental Health Acute Inpatient Service
Acute Mental Health Unit
An artist impression of the new Mental Health Acute Inpatient Service

The Mental Health Acute Inpatient Service on Chelmsford Ave provides a fit-for-purpose environment for the delivery of person-centred, contemporary models of mental health care.

Designed to reflect a residential environment, this purpose-built unit gives consumers access to internal courtyards, gardens and outdoor areas, and multiple barbecue areas for families, to support their recovery and wellbeing.

We have partnered with health consumers, carers and expert clinicians to ensure the unit provides a safe space to improve wellbeing.

The Mental Health Acute Inpatient Service marks the completion of Stage 1 of the Ipswich Hospital Expansion project.

In 2024, the current Mental Health Unit at the Ipswich Hospital will be demolished, and the land reserved for future development as part of Stage 2 of the Ipswich Hospital Expansion project.

Future planning at West Moreton Health

West Moreton Health is working towards increasing our capacity to deliver more complex specialist care to the community. This will allow consumers to be treated closer to home instead of travelling outside the region for essential healthcare. Currently, one in three consumers are treated elsewhere.

West Moreton Health is committed to developing health precincts that meet consumers’ needs, using technology and innovation to provide services more efficiently and sustainably. This means doing things differently in the future. 

In the short, medium and long term, we are working to identify the mix of infrastructure, services and digital solutions West Moreton Health will need to meet future demand in acute, non-acute, outpatient and community health settings.

 

Ipswich Hospital Expansion Stage 2

West Moreton Health has completed a preliminary business case to identify the infrastructure and services needed to deliver complex care to our growing population. 

This work seeks to improve:

  • access to healthcare
  • health outcomes
  • consumer and staff satisfaction
  • safety in healthcare delivery
  • sustainable healthcare delivery
  • healthcare environments that are built fit-for-purpose
  • the local economy.

The Stage 2 Ipswich Hospital Expansion proposes a staged redevelopment of the Ipswich Hospital site on Chelmsford Ave.

Alcohol and Other Drugs Service in Ipswich

The Queensland Government has begun planning the creation of a $24.5 million Alcohol and Other Drugs withdrawal management and rehabilitation facility.

The facility will provide 10 withdrawal management beds and 35 residential rehabilitation beds.

We are working with the Department of Health to find a suitable location.

Read more here.

Ripley Satellite Hospital

The Ripley Satellite Hospital is now open.

To find out more, visit the Ripley Satellite Hospital page.

Get involved

West Moreton Health is committed to engaging regularly with people and businesses interested in the design and delivery of our capital works program.

To get involved, register an expression of interest as a consumer representative, ask a question or give feedback, please email WMCommunications@health.qld.gov.au, phone (07) 3810 1111 or write to West Moreton Health Communications and Engagement, PO Box 73, Ipswich QLD 4305.

Follow the latest updates on the West Moreton Health Facebook page, LinkedIn site or at www.westmoreton.health.qld.gov.au/news.