Queensland Health Minister Cameron Dick has ruled out a second tertiary teaching hospital for children in Brisbane.
The Queensland government has ruled out re-opening the Royal Children's Hospital in Herston to alleviate staffing and
bedding problems at the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital.
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Health Minister Cameron Dick on Tuesday said the government would pump $70 million into providing 30 new beds at Lady Cilento over the next four years, and would start an immediate recruitment drive to find additional medical staff for the hospital.
However, he said a second tertiary teaching hospital for children was not on the cards.
"I want to put to rest the idea that the hospital will be reopened, it will not be reopened and I don't want to raise false hope that it will," he told ABC Radio.
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"My focus is on getting Lady Cilento Hospital to be one of the best pediatric hospitals in the world.
"I think in the next decade we can have a world-class tertiary facility there that will be regarded by the rest of the world as leading."
Mr Dick said the $70 million funding boost would be on top of $200 million already earmarked in the budget to fund nursing initiatives.
He said the extra 30 beds at the hospital, which represents a 10 per cent increase, could not be opened without new staff.
"You can't just pick a nurse intensivist off the shelf, we need to recruit broadly for that," he said.
"I don't rule out recruiting overseas to ensure we've got the right number of staff (but) obviously we want staff from Queensland and Australia."
The announcement followed a meeting between Mr Dick and Australian Medical Association Queensland President Dr Chris Zappala on Monday to discuss concerns around patient safety, lengthy delays and lack of resources.
Dr Zappala said the new funding was "a good outcome" despite some delays in pushing it through.
"The system deficiencies that were very apparent to everyone in the past are now being addressed," he said.
Opposition leader Lawrence Springborg said his party took no responsibility for the controversies plaguing the hospital, saying by the time the LNP took power in 2012 the contracts had already been signed.
"At that stage it was impossible to turn back the clock," he said.
"That's the greatest responsibility I feel."