New hospital open day for all

By Amy Brticevich, Bachelor of Communications student intern

Griffith University staff and students are urged to check out their new neighbour on the Gold Coast with the community open day for the Gold Coast University Hospital on Saturday.

Ahead of its September 28 opening, the new $1.7 billion hospital is opening its doors to the public this Saturday, September 7.

Held from 9am to 3pm, the open day will allow registered visitors a behind the scenes look at the state of the art medical precinct, on Parklands Drive directly opposite Griffith’s Gold Coast campus.

With staff and equipment making the move to the facility in the coming weeks, the open day provides outsiders with their only chance to view the new hospital before it becomes operational at the end of the month.

GCUH has a capacity of 750 overnight beds and at 170,000 square metres, is three times the size of the existing Gold Coast Hospital at Southport.

The hospital will train 580 health students in a range of services, as well as the new areas of radiation oncology, neonatal intensive care, trauma response and nuclear medicine.

Locating these units at the GCUH will minimise the need for some patients to travel to Brisbane for specialist care.

The open day will consist of guided tours and interactive information stalls, as well as entertainment for the family and activities for the kids.

The Gold Coast University Hospital is located at 1 Hospital Blvd (corner of Parklands Dr and Olsen Ave) and is accessible by public transport.

Parking will be available onsite and at surrounding areas, at commercial rates.

To register your interest to attend the Gold Coast University Hospital community open day, visithttp://www.health.qld.gov.au/goldcoasthealth/events.asp