Public transport
There is a bus stop outside the Cairns Hospital in Lake Street. Find out what buses stop at the hospital from TransLink.
There is a taxi rank on the Esplanade side of the hospital, outside C Block.
Patient pick up and drop off
There are designated patient pick up and drop off areas:
- in front of the main entrance to the hospital at Lake Street (outside the Transit Lounge)
- in front of the emergency room (outside C Block) on The Esplanade.
Pick up and drop off
There are patient pick up and drop off areas.
In front of the main entrance to the hospital at Lake Street.
In front of the emergency room at The Esplanade.
If you need to borrow a wheelchair, please ask a volunteer at the main entrance.
Parking
There is a multi-story car park at Cairns Hospital E Block. You access the car park from Digger Street. The car park is open from 6 am to 8 pm daily.
Disabled parking
There are disabled parking spaces in several locations around the hospital and in the multi-story car park at Cairns Hospital E Block.
Cairns Hospital map with disabled parking (PDF, 512KB)
Help with parking costs
You can get discounted parking if you meet certain criteria. This is called concessional parking.
To get concessional parking for you or your carer, you must:
- have a Pensioner Concession card
- have a Health Care card
- have a Gold Veteran Affairs card
- be staying in hospital for at least 1 week
- need to go to hospital more than 2 times per week
- need to go to hospital a least once a week for 4 weeks or more.
If you go to hospital for renal dialysis, oncology (cancer) or radiology treatment, please contact the ward or talk to one of the Social Workers to see if you are eligible to receive a special parking card.
Parking costs (as at 1 December 2024)
| Time | Full parking costs | Concessional parking costs |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 30 minutes | Free | Free |
| Up to 1 hour | $4.00 | $2.20 |
| Up to 2 hours | $7.50 | $3.40 |
| Up to 4 hours | $9.30 | $5.40 |
| All day | $10.80 | $6.50 |
| Lost ticket | $10.80 | $10.80 |
You can only get concessional parking on weekdays between 8 am to 4:30 pm.
There is no concessional parking on weekends or public holidays.
How to claim concessional parking
Step 1: Take your Cairns Hospital parking ticket with you when you leave the car park to go to your appointment. If you have a Pensioner Concession card, Health Care card or Veteran Gold card bring it with you.
Step 2: At your appointment give the staff member at the desk your parking ticket. They’ll check to see if you can get concessional parking by looking at the appointment booking system or seeing your concession card. If you are entitled to discount parking, the staff member will write the date, the ward name and sign on the parking card.
Step 3: Tickets are discounted by a machine called a validator. Take this card to a department that has a validator machine and they will put it through the machine and return your discounted ticket to you.
There are validators located at:
- Cancer Care, Liz Plummer Centre (Level 1, E Block)
- Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation (Ground Floor, E Block on the corner of Digger and Grove Streets)
If there isn’t a ticket validator where you are, the staff member will authorise your parking ticket, and tell you where a nearby validator is to process your ticket.
Step 4: Take this ticket to a Pay Station in the Car Park at E Block on the ground or second floor before leaving the car park.