Townsville Hospital

Overview

Townsville Hospital is a major tertiary referral hospital serving North Queensland and surrounding regions. With approximately 770 beds, this principal referral facility provides highly specialised services including intensive care, complex cardiac procedures, neurosurgery, comprehensive cancer care, neonatal intensive care, and quaternary-level pediatrics. Operating as the flagship facility of Townsville Hospital and Health Service, the hospital serves as North Queensland’s major referral center with a catchment extending across northern Queensland, parts of the Northern Territory, and neighboring Pacific islands. Located in Douglas approximately 8 kilometers southwest of Townsville’s CBD, the hospital employs approximately 5,500 staff and serves a primary catchment population of around 250,000 people while acting as a referral center for a secondary catchment exceeding 700,000 people across North Queensland. Townsville Hospital underwent major redevelopment completed in 2014, creating a contemporary facility with expanded service capabilities that significantly reduced the need for North Queensland patients to travel to Brisbane for specialised care. The hospital serves as a major teaching facility affiliated with James Cook University, supporting healthcare education and tropical medicine research while providing comprehensive tertiary services to communities across Queensland’s vast northern regions.