A 23-year Palm Cove tradition has again backed better healthcare for Far North Queensland, with this year’s Nu Nu Restaurant Melbourne Cup raising $273,000 for advanced spinal surgery equipment at Cairns Hospital.
The annual event combined Melbourne Cup celebrations with its famous horse race along Palm Cove beach, auctions and fundraising, continuing a partnership that has now raised $993,000 in the past 23 years.
This year’s funds will help the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation bring an OEC 3D Mobile Imaging System to Cairns Hospital, supporting the expansion of spinal surgery services in the region.
The system gives surgeons highly detailed, real-time three-dimensional images during surgery, helping them accurately place and check surgical implants and instrumentation during procedures.
The total cost of the equipment is $800,000.
Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation CEO Gina Hogan said the ongoing generosity behind the Nu Nu event was extraordinary.
“Twenty-three years of supporting better healthcare in Far North Queensland is an incredible legacy, and this year the Nu Nu community has done it again, raising $273,000, exceeding last year’s $200,000 record.
“That money will help us towards bringing advanced spinal surgery imaging technology to Cairns Hospital, which will give surgeons detailed 3D imaging while they are operating. When surgeons are placing screws and other instrumentation during spinal surgery, the technology allows them to check the placement right there in theatre.”
The equipment will support greater surgical precision and patient safety, while helping strengthen specialist spinal surgery services in Far North Queensland. It also will help reduce the need for patients to travel outside the region for care and support shorter waits for non-urgent spinal surgery.
Mrs Hogan said the event’s longevity made its impact particularly special. “What makes Nu Nu’s support so remarkable is that this isn’t a one-off. Year after year, Mo Rowbottom, the Nu Nu team, their supporters, donors and guests come together and choose to make a difference.
“People have a fantastic day, but at the heart of it is a genuine commitment to their community.”
“We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who donated, bid, bought a raffle ticket, an online auction or contributed to this year’s event. Every dollar brings us closer to having this technology available here in Cairns.”
The new imaging technology builds on an earlier community-funded investment in Brainlab orthopaedic navigation technology at Cairns Hospital in 2016. Mrs Hogan said investments in advanced technology were an important part of strengthening the specialist services available locally. “This is about giving our clinicians access to advanced technology and helping more Far North Queensland patients receive the care they need here in their own region.”
