The ACT Government launched the ACT Health Services Plan on 8 August 2022 to inform how we will develop and redesign publicly funded health care over the next eight years, here in the ACT.

The ACT Government is committed to delivering a hospital on the northside, and new health facilities closer to home in your communities. We want to collaborate with the community to design public health care services for our growing region.

We want to make sure you have a health system that is flexible, provides services that work together and delivers what you need, as close to home as possible.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our consultation activities to date. The first phase of the consultation ran from August – September 2022 and focused on developing a broad understanding of public opinion about healthcare across the ACT through an online survey. The second phase of consultation broke into separate streams, with activities held during October and November 2022 focusing on the Integrated Care Program and the northside hospital project.

You can read the engagement reports from each of these phases showing what we heard from community at these links here:

• Phase 1 consultation report: Designing ACT health services for a growing population YourSay survey
• Phase 2 - ACT Integrated Care Community Panel - Process and outcomes report
• Phase 2 - Northside hospital consultation report - Designing ACT health services for a growing population
• Designing ACT Health services for a growing population - Consultation outcomes report

The outcomes of this consultation will be used to inform options for the new hospital and potential funding decisions by ACT Government. There will be more opportunities for community engagement over the next year as the northside hospital project progresses.

The ACT Government is committed to health care that puts consumers and their families first.

People access and receive health care services in many different ways - through their GP, in hospital, through the Emergency Department, Community Health Centres and Walk in Centres. People's health care needs change over time, and they access different health care services through different stages of life.

Our work is guided by an overarching strategy Accessible, Accountable, Sustainable: A Framework for the ACT Public Health System 2020-2030.

The next step is the design of a modern Territory-wide health care system that is accessible, accountable and sustainable, and works together to better respond to the needs of the community.

Past and future consultation

We have listened to the community through previous consultations and used your views to inform key initiatives and health policies. Recent examples of this include the Canberra Hospital Master Plan and the ACT Health Services Plan 2022-30.

This page will be updated with information on the next stages of consultation. Please sign up for updates if you would like to be notified about this.

Information from the infographic above is detailed in the accessible word document found here.

The ACT Government’s vision is for a person-centered health system that is innovative, effective, and sustainable. This includes the ACT Government’s commitment to health care that puts patients and their families first. Engaging with the local community is critical to explore experiences and perceptions of health care across the region and gaps in services.

A community engagement program called ‘Designing ACT health services for a growing population’ was commenced in August 2022 to explore the community’s current and future perceptions of the ACT health care system. This was a phased engagement designed to get a broad understanding of public opinion on healthcare across the ACT in the first phase with deeper consultation occurring through deliberative style engagement approach for the Integrated Care Program.

As part of this a community panel was established to gather insights and perspectives on integrated care and the delivery of health care services closer to where people live.

The panel was formed through an Expression of Interest (EOI) process through YourSay during August 2022. From this the panel was formed with 30 randomly selected individuals who had attributes reflective of the diverse ACT community. The panel met online for four workshops totalling 12 hours of deliberation time and collectively understood, questioned and provided feedback on a range of matters relating to health services in the ACT with a focus on integrated care provided closer to where people live.

The engagement activity was complex with detailed subject matter that participants were required to understand within the context of community needs that extended past their own.

You can read the full listening report here.

The ACT Government is continuing to plan for a new hospital in the north of Canberra. This hospital will meet increasing demand for public hospital services in Canberra's north and future proof our health system.

The northside hospital consultation ran from 18 October to 29 November 2022. The community was invited to participate in a range of online and in-person activities to help shape the planning and design of the new northside hospital.

The feedback we receive will help us design public health care services to meet the needs of our growing region. The ACT's population has grown faster than any other jurisdiction over the last five years and continues to grow. The needs of our different regions also continues to evolve as our communities change. In addition to the challenges of an ageing population, there are areas of service demand that we need to meet so we can make sure everyone has access to safe and effective care.

To find out more about our consultation activities and what we heard from the community read our full listening report.

You can sign up to receive project updates to make sure you know about upcoming opportunities. You can also email us at info.northsidehospitalproject@act.gov.au to get more information. For more information, read our FAQs.

This is just the beginning of our conversations with the community on the northside hospital. There will be more opportunities to have your say through future stages of the project.

Background

In 2017-18, the ACT Government carried out a scoping study for expanded northside hospital facilities. Demand projections undertaken by the ACT Health Directorate showed the need for a significantly larger hospital on the northside than is currently provided at Calvary Public Hospital Bruce.

In 2020, a condition assessment of Calvary Public Hospital infrastructure was undertaken, along with an options analysis for the building of a new northside hospital. The options analysis recommended that a new northside hospital be built, rather than a remediation and expansion of the existing hospital.

The ACT Government committed in the 10th Parliamentary and Governing Agreement to plan and design a new northside hospital, with the aim to start construction by mid-decade.

In 2020, a Northside Hospital Project Team was established to:

• undertake scope and early design of the new northside hospital
• investigate the best location for the hospital.

On 31 May 2023, the Health Infrastructure Enabling Act 2023 passed in the Legislative Assembly.

The Act enabled the ACT Government to acquire part of the land on which the Calvary Public Hospital sits in Bruce. It also enabled the ACT Government to transition the operation of the hospital to Canberra Health Services.

On 3 July 2023, Calvary Public Hospital Bruce transitioned across to Canberra Health Services and is now known as North Canberra Hospital.

Your feedback will be used to inform the design of health care services in the ACT.