Gold coast university hospital

NO50FRANNY · Jun 9, 2012

Hi there,

I am curious as to your motivation for moving to the Gold Coast in particular? Have you holidayed there or has someone recommended it? The weather/beach? Do you have children? I live in Brisbane, the nearest large (ish) city to the Goldy with approx. 2 million people and about an hours drive north. I just wanted to pass on some local advice- the Gold Coast has HUGE problems with escalating violent crime. Even those who love it there would not argue with me on this. My ex-partner is a police officer and his work is predominantly at the GC, dealing with entrenched organised crime, bikie gangs, lots of drugs, lots of theft, street crime. I certainly would not want to live there, it can be a bit seedy/tacky, and the local councils are pretty corrupt. The people of course, are lovely but the beaches are mostly surrounded by high rises and it's quite a busy (traffic) city so if a change of pace is what you are looking for it may not suit. Having said all of this some people love it there, it's a city with a beach I suppose. There are fantastic communities north of Brisbane collectively referred to as the Sunshine Coast that you could check out such as Noosa, Maroochydore, Caloundra, Mooloolaba- beautiful and unspoilt beach towns with far less crime. Unfortunately there are no NICU's at the sunny coast hospitals but Nambour Hospital has a Special Care Nursery. I know a few nurses who live in Caloundra and commute to larger hospitals in Brisbane for work- it's less than an hours' drive.

I work for QLD Health in Emergency at the principal tertiary/trauma referral hospital in Brisbane (RBWH) and we have an amazing NICU. The Mater Mothers' and Mater Private Hospitals located on the southside of Brisbane both have NICU's, and the commute would be

Good luck!

Gem1210390 · Jun 10, 2012

Hi

Thanks for your reply it was extremely useful. I have not visited the gold coast but was told to look at the new hospital. I have a child and would not want to move anywhere that suffer with increased rates of crime. We currently live in the city in the uk and I am looking for a better life for myself and family. I would like to work in a nicu which is level 3 intensive care - I have taken my post grad education in intensive care and would like to stay in this field. We have also considered Brisbane and have not abandoned that option. We wanted to go to Brisbane before I was told about the gold coast hospital and to apply. I have heard that Brisbane is a great city. I want to go to an area with good schools

If you could give me some good suburbs in Brisbane that have good schools I would appreciate it

Thanks for your reply

Gemma

Gem1210390 · Jun 12, 2012

Hi there,
I am curious as to your motivation for moving to the Gold Coast in particular? Have you holidayed there or has someone recommended it? The weather/beach? Do you have children? I live in Brisbane, the nearest large (ish) city to the Goldy with approx. 2 million people and about an hours drive north. I just wanted to pass on some local advice- the Gold Coast has HUGE problems with escalating violent crime. Even those who love it there would not argue with me on this. My ex-partner is a police officer and his work is predominantly at the GC, dealing with entrenched organised crime, bikie gangs, lots of drugs, lots of theft, street crime. I certainly would not want to live there, it can be a bit seedy/tacky, and the local councils are pretty corrupt. The people of course, are lovely but the beaches are mostly surrounded by high rises and it's quite a busy (traffic) city so if a change of pace is what you are looking for it may not suit. Having said all of this some people love it there, it's a city with a beach I suppose. There are fantastic communities north of Brisbane collectively referred to as the Sunshine Coast that you could check out such as Noosa, Maroochydore, Caloundra, Mooloolaba- beautiful and unspoilt beach towns with far less crime. Unfortunately there are no NICU's at the sunny coast hospitals but Nambour Hospital has a Special Care Nursery. I know a few nurses who live in Caloundra and commute to larger hospitals in Brisbane for work- it's less than an hours' drive.
I work for QLD Health in Emergency at the principal tertiary/trauma referral hospital in Brisbane (RBWH) and we have an amazing NICU. The Mater Mothers' and Mater Private Hospitals located on the southside of Brisbane both have NICU's, and the commute would be
Good luck!

Thanks for your reply it was extremely useful. I have not visited the gold coast but was told to look at the new hospital. I have a child and would not want to move anywhere that suffer with increased rates of crime. We currently live in the city in the uk and I am looking for a better life for myself and family. I would like to work in a nicu which is level 3 intensive care - I have taken my post grad education in intensive care and would like to stay in this field. We have also considered Brisbane and have not abandoned that option. We wanted to go to Brisbane before I was told about the gold coast hospital and to apply. I have heard that Brisbane is a great city. I want to go to an area with good schools

NO50FRANNY · Jun 13, 2012

Hey there,

I'm not sure what level three translates to in Aussie terms for hospitals but I know that the Royal Brisbane and Womens' Hospital is the tertiary referral and trauma centre, and teaching hospital. It's the largest hospital complex in the southern hemisphere at the moment. We handle most neo-natal retrievals from around Queensland. The only other NICUs are at the Mater Mothers' (public) and Mater Private Hospital and soon the new Gold Coast hospital. I have an odd love affair with the Royal, but it's a great place to work and I always go back, they treat their staff well and clinical standards are excellent. I worked in London for a year and I should tell you that in Australia, working conditions are better in public hospitals than private- I found the opposite in England. At present, QLD nurses are the highest paid nurses in Australia, I own (well, the bank does) a modest 3 bedroom house 7kms from the CBD/city. About Brisvegas, I've lived here on and off for most of my adult life with the exception of 7 odd years travelling, the biggest drawcard is the weather- it's warm-hot 10 months of the year and there are plenty of beaches less than an hour away. For the record, we do have the best beaches in the world.

Crime is not really too much of an issue, I see a great deal more than the average citizen purely from a work standpoint but I often don't lock my doors. I have always lived on the northside so I am biased but I will list my favourite suburbs. Paddington, Ashgrove, Red Hill, Kelvin Grove, Windsor, Teneriffe, New Farm, Clayfield, Bardon. I couldn't afford to buy a house in these suburbs though- so I live in Kedron. There are 3 very sought after schools in Kedron but any of the inner-city suburbs have great schools. Ashgrove has Oakleigh primary (public)- where all the politicians kids go, Kedron has St. Anthonys'- you will find that catholic schools are in demand (regardless of religious persuasion). Public transport is improving but by and large you would need a car if you are doing shiftwork. Brisbane is a great place for a family, not as cosmopolitan as Melbourne or Sydney, it's just smaller and the housing prices are better. Brisbane is often referred to as "a big country town". My favourite city is Melbourne and will be moving there later this year but I don't have kids, and most of my friends are there and my family live elsewhere. Hope this is helpful.