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Townsville Hospital and Health Service
The Townsville Hospital and Health Service (HHS) extends across a vast geographic area and serves a diverse population demographic.
The Townsville HHS covers a geographic expanse extending north to Cardwell, west to Richmond, south to Home Hill, and east to Magnetic and Palm Islands. As northern Australia's only tertiary hospital and health service, the HHS services an extensive catchment stretching from Mackay in the south, north to the Torres Strait Islands and west to the Northern Territory border. The catchment population is more than 695,000 people.
The HHS has a geographic footprint of 148,000 square kilometres and is home to a resident population of 238,614 or around 4.8 per cent of Queensland’s overall population. The annual population rate is currently projected at 1.6 per cent growth per annum. The HHS has a number of rural communities whose population, according to data from the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office, live with a high level of relative disadvantage measured by the index of relative socio-economic disadvantage. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that 7.8 per cent of HHS residents are of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, almost double the average (4 per cent) for Queensland.
The Townsville HHS provides public healthcare services across an extensive range of specialties in acute, community and outreach settings. It is home to northern Australia’s only tertiary hospital, The Townsville Hospital, and to the Townsville Public Health Unit (TPHU). The Townsville HHS is a major economic driver for the region with approximately one in 17 people in paid work employed by the HHS.
The Townsville Hospital has recently invested $4.4M in the establishment of the Townsville Institute of Health Research and Innovation. The institute includes space for clinical trials, research, education and support staff and will facilitate collaboration across disciplines to address critical health challenges in the region.
(Source: Townsville Hospital and Health Service Annual Report 2017 – 2018)
For more information visit the Townsville Hospital and Health Service website.