The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service strives to provide excellence in health care, well-being, research and education in Far North Queensland. The Health Service is the primary provider of health services to residents of the Cairns, Tablelands and Cassowary Coast regions with a population of over 250,000 people, as well as providing specialist services to the Torres Strait and Cape York region. Cairns Hospital is the primary referral hospital for Far North Queensland. We provide an extensive range of health services at more than 30 regional, rural and remote facilities across a geographical area of 142,900 square kilometres. The Health Service is 95 percent self-sufficient with only a small number of high-level acute services being provided in Townsville and Brisbane. Our staff are a part of the community we serve, and we strongly believe that health outcomes are enhanced by involving our community in the planning and evaluation of local health services. The staff and patients of Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service helped develop a set of shared values that guide our behaviours and decision making. These values are: integrity, compassion, accountability and respect.