New South Tuggeranong community public health centre construction to start 2024

The South Tuggeranong health centre will be in Conder, on the corner of Box Hill Avenue and Heidelberg Street, across from the primary school.

It is the first of four health centres the government will build. The other three will be in the Inner South, North Gungahlin and West Belconnen.

A health infrastructure plan from July identified Griffith, Ginninderry and Casey as the three other preferred locations.

A tender has been released to progress the design of the $16.4 million Conder health centre.

The location in Conder was chosen because it is close to arterial roads, has good public transport routes and accessible car parking, Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said.

The minister said it is also close to other existing health facilities and services, such as general practice, pharmacy, imaging, pathology, allied health and dental.

The community health centre will provide services such as podiatry, dentistry, maternity and child health, and mental health.

"This will allow Canberrans to access care closer to home and reduce the need to go to hospital for treatment and appointments," Ms Stephen-Smith said.

"We're keeping people well and out of hospital where possible."

The centre is expected to have 12 consultation rooms and some "flexible spaces", the minister said. She said there would be multidisciplinary teams, and the centres are intentionally spread across Canberra so more people can access them.

"The South Tuggeranong health centre will be designed to have the flexibility to cater for different services, allowing us to respond to the needs of the community now and into the future," she said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the centres would focus on preventive care and advice, early intervention, and managing chronic illness.

"We know that to cater for our growing city, we need a public health system that can provide the right care at the right time, in convenient locations across Canberra," he said.

"This new health centre will provide residents in South Tuggeranong with more health services, closer to home.

"This is part of our ongoing commitment to plan and build a health care system that can grow with our community, bringing together skilled professionals with state-of-the-art technology and quality infrastructure."

Early planning works continue for the Inner South and Gungahlin facilities.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.