CONSTRUCTION has begun on a new $17.3 million Transit Care Centre at Ipswich Hospital, with the Queensland Government saying the project will help reduce ambulance ramping and improve patient flow through the busy emergency department.
The new facility, expected to open in late 2026, will more than double the capacity of the hospital’s existing transit lounge, increasing it to accommodate 24 patients at a time.
Operating 24 hours a day, the centre will be staffed by additional nursing, allied health, operational and administrative teams, with services also available on weekends and public holidays.
The Transit Care Centre is designed to care for medically stable patients who no longer require treatment in the emergency department but are waiting for transfer to an inpatient bed or another care setting.
By moving these patients sooner, emergency clinicians will be able to focus on incoming emergency cases.
The project forms part of the Government’s Hospital Rescue Plan and the broader Ipswich Hospital Expansion, which will deliver 200 additional overnight beds.
