Construction is now complete on the Eight Mile Plains Satellite Hospital project, one of 7 new satellite hospital locations across south-east Queensland. The project will connect more local communities to vital healthcare services closer to home.
Built in collaboration with Architectus Conrad Gargett and Hutchinson Builders, Fulton Trotter Architects provided the design and documentation for the project as part of the Queensland Satellite Hospital Program — the first of its kind in Australia.
Designed to cater for the growing community, the new Eight Mile Plains Satellite Hospital offers a range of healthcare facilities including a minor injury and illness clinic, kidney dialysis, cancer day therapy, outpatient services, and allied health services.
Director, Justine Ebzery said the collaborative project showed the importance of healthcare architecture in the community as a place of wellness and healing.
“Through the use of key design principles, we were able to create an accessible community space with a focus on health and wellbeing,” she said.
“Stakeholder engagement and collaboration were at the core of the project and I’m incredibly proud to see this project now completed.”
The Eight Mile Plains Satellite Hospital interiors include a connection to Country mural and several artworks created by First Nations artist and owner of Wulkuraka Designs, Ailsa Walsh.
Combining culture with creativity, Ailsa said she hopes her colourful designs add to the healing space in the hospital.
“The richness in colours in these canvases is a nod to our community,” she said.
“Every shade represents a facet of emotional and spiritual wellbeing, invoking the ancient understanding that colours are more than visual stimuli – they are conduits of healing energies that connect us to the natural world.” – Ailsa Walsh.
Titled Harmony Within Nature, a river mural can be seen on a wall in the entry courtyard, representing a lifeline and the flow of life, while window designs and canvases throughout the hospital embody strength, recovery and transformation.
“The featured animals – the platypus, symbolising adaptability; kangaroos, embodying strength and resilience; frogs, heralding transformation; and local native fish, reflecting abundance – are not mere representations but guides through the cycles of life, each with its story and lesson,” Ailsa said.
Taking inspiration directly from nature, the artist said it was crucial to connect humans and the land within the artwork and hopes others find strength within the space.
“Nature, in its purest form, is a source of healing, and the presence of these elements communicates the intrinsic connection between our wellbeing and the environment.”
“Harmony Within Nature ” is more than an art piece; it’s a journey into belonging. This artwork whispers a universal truth: that healing is not just a personal journey but a collective one, deeply rooted in the understanding that we belong not just to ourselves but to the intricate dance of nature that surrounds us.”
Construction on the Eight Mile Plains Satellite Hospital began in late 2022. The hospital was officially unveiled to the public on Sunday, 19 May 2024 and is located at 59 Levington Road, Eight Mile Plains, QLD 4113.
