The WA Government has announced it will build a new $1.8 billion Women and Babies Hospital on land within the Fiona Stanley Hospital (FSH) precinct, enabling the hospital to be built without disruption to patients and staff.
Premier, Mark McGowan says the new site will allow expanded services at the new state-of-the-art hospital to include more obstetrics and gynaecology beds and neonatal cots, while also improving parking and transport connectivity.
“The new Women and Babies Hospital will service our community from right across WA,” the Premier said.
“This is why we allocated $1.8 billion from the budget surplus to this important project – that funding is locked in, meaning the new state-of-the-art hospital will be built, debt free.
“However, it would have been irresponsible to proceed with a new hospital at QEII given the unacceptable disruption to patients and staff that has been identified through the planning process.
“Fiona Stanley Hospital currently delivers more than 3,000 babies a year and this new location allows the Government to provide a modern, leading edge maternity hospital next door to the State’s largest tertiary hospital, without compromising on patient care throughout construction.”
Following the completion of the Business Case and Project Definition Plan for the proposed Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) Medical Centre site, which found construction on the proposed QEII site posed too many risks, extended timelines and unacceptable patient disruption, the new site at FSH was identified by the WA Government.
Health Minister, Amber-Jade Sanderson says building the hospital at the QEII site would have caused significant disruption to the neighbouring Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, which would have resulted in patients and staff being impacted, higher build costs, and the hospital opening much later than planned due to the complex nature of the build.
“The potential disruption to patients and staff is far greater than first anticipated at the QEII site and we have no intention of compromising on patient care and safety or causing unnecessary disruption to an already busy campus,” said Minister Sanderson.
“A key consideration of the co-location of the Women’s and Babies Hospital with a tertiary hospital is to ensure that our sickest women have access to a state-of-the-art ICU. This makes FSH the obvious choice.
“The redevelopment of Osborne Park Hospital to include the establishment of a new Family Birth Centre and expanded maternity and neonatal services provides women in the Northern Suburbs with greater birthing choices – closer to home.
“I am committed to getting this project right for women in WA and we will continue to consult with women to make sure we have the very best women centred health care and facilities.”
Since 2021, $10.4 million has been invested in the development of the project. This body of work has assisted in informing the need for an alternative site, with planning and development work being utilised at the new FSH precinct option.
New multi-storey car bays will also be constructed in the precinct to offset the loss of the existing car bays where the new Hospital will be built.
