woodsy16 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Hi all We have recently found out that there maybe a job opportunity for us early next year working at Canberra hospital. I was wondering if there are any fellow PIO's that work there or have experience of the hospital and can give us any information as we make our decision, whilst doing our sums! The same also goes for housing and childcare in the surrounding area as we have a toddler and will be looking for some kind of daycare. Thanks Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surhythms Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Hi Kate I dont work in Canberra hospital and I dont have any experience of it or childcare cost (we have a 13 yr old) Check out www.allhomes.com.au - that will give you an indication of what the rental market is like at the moment and how much you will be spending on rent. There are a good few posts as regards cost of living in Canberra that you could do a search on in the ACT section. Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 The hospital has a child care centre http://www.echildcare.com.au/garran-woden-valley/ but you will be in competition with all the other staff who want their kids in care. There are quite a few in the area http://www.careforkids.com.au/child-care/woden-valley The area around the hospital can be quite expensive for accommodation (Garran, Hughes, Deakin, Isaacs, O'Malley etc) but nowhere in Canberra is that far from anywhere else really and if you find somewhere that goes against the rush hour traffic it makes life much easier (think loads of people heading in to Civic each day so if you can find somewhere with the traffic going in the opposite direction that would be good) I have a friend in Garran (swanky address) who is totally ticked off that she gets the noise (according to her it is non stop!) from the emergency helicopter landings. Dont know any nurses that work there but know several other disciplines and they have the same beefs with management as you are going to find in any other hospital in the world I suspect. Patient experiences are probably also pretty much like any other public hospital in the world as well - the wait list for elective surgery is one of the longest in the country. Check out The RiotACT for what it has to say about the hospital http://the-riotact.com/?s=%22canberra+hospital%22 it's a good site for finding out what really happens in Canberra! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest biomedical scientist Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 I have just got a job there in the Biochemistry Dept - what job are you looking for? Was quite slow from seeing the job, getting an interview (via skype) then waiting for the contract to arrive. However, once the visa was started off (457) it only took a week to come through. The pay is much better than NHS pay (I was on band 7) - going to get equivalent of Band 8b. My husband has just got a job also via telephone interview and is going to be earning 3x what he is currently for the same job. So the rents may be more expensive compared to UK especially around the hospital area, but it is all relative. We are looking at a 3 bed house for around $520 a week in the Hughes/Deakin area but there are apartments for less. We haven't a clue how it will all go but hey! can't be worse than the NHS and the sun is shining! Hope that helps...will let you know what it's like when we get there next week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 101126 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Hi Kate, Sadly I have experience from both sides of the fence here as I work for Shared Services within ICT and am dedicated to looking after Health's ICT and also have a daughter undergoing Cancer treatment, so can probably talk from both angles. Personally I have found all the nursing staff to have been excellent, very compassionate, caring and knowledgeable as is the case with most nursing staff around the world. Additionally the clinical staff have been excellent. From an ICT perspective I deal with many of the other support functions and have found them all to be very good and committed as well. Regarding living in and around the hospital, I would suggest that unless you do not drive that living anywhere in Canberra would be ok, I have colleagues that live furthest north side in Forde and commute daily, generally their drive is forty five minutes at peak time but depending on shifts this may not be an issue and 30 minutes outside of peak would be more than enough. I live in Gordon (pretty much as far south as you can get in Canberra) and find the commute at peaks times to be 20-25 minutes so it is easy, there is free parking on site so again easy. If you do not drive and work shifts then living in Garran, Hughes would make some sense. The hospital is going through some change with a lot of work being done on its infrastructure with some $450m+ being committed to buildings and infrastructure and about $90m being committed on the health-e future (IT) program of works so plenty happening. If you want any further information then please feel free to contact me through a private message. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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