Australia's Queensland Government is advancing the initial stage of the 64-bed Cairns Hospital expansion as part of the A$18.5bn ($12.07bn) hospital rescue plan.

The practical completion of the hospital’s clinic is achieved and services are expected to commence before the year-end.

This new specialist outpatient clinic will serve patients with tuberculosis, respiratory and rheumatology conditions, offering a more accessible, larger and modern space for care.

Far North Queenslanders will benefit from the expanded clinic, which is designed to make health services accessible. It will offer cardiopulmonary exercise testing.

Queensland health and ambulance services minister Tim Nicholls said: “The relocated and expanded clinical space includes more consult rooms and treatment areas.

“The addition of a respiratory laboratory will, for the first time, offer cardiopulmonary exercise testing to assess exercise capacity and how well the heart and lungs function during exercise.

“We're delivering for Cairns—not only through this relocation, refurbishment and expansion project, but we're getting on with the job to fix Labor’s botched planning, which would have failed to deliver more beds and a much-needed surgical centre.”

The clinic is scheduled to open on 22 December, providing patients and their families with improved access to appointments.

Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service chief executive Leena Singh said: “The expansion of the number of respiratory labs will improve access for patients requiring lung function testing for conditions such as asthma, emphysema, lung cancer and silicosis, or for those monitored for medication side effects or exposure to asbestos and silica dust.”

In July 2024, the Queensland government announced plans to invest A$27m to expand access to virtual emergency care services.