The WA State Government is set to purchase St John of God Mt Lawley Hospital in an effort to add new beds to the public hospital system and relieve some of the pressure the system has been facing.
On Thursday Premier Roger Cook announced plans for the purchase of the private hospital, which is expected to be operating as a public hospital as early as next year.
To fund the purchase the government has scrapped the $1.6 billion Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre redevelopment to create a $1.5 billion Building Hospitals Fund.
Negotiations around the sale of the 197-bed facility are understood to be in the advanced stages. It will add up to 100 beds to the public system, with a portion of the beds at the Mt Lawley hospital already contracted to WA Health.
The purchase will also provide eight additional operating theatres to the public system.
The move follows pressure on the public health system in recent months and years, which has seen record rates of ambulance ramping due to a lack of available beds, and the postponement of elective surgeries at some hospitals.
Earlier this year as a number of Perth hospitals faced internal emergencies known as a ‘code yellow’, AMA (WA) President Dr Kyle Hoath described the health system as being “in the midst of a full-blown health emergency”.
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The Cook Government has also reviewed redevelopments planned for the Royal Perth Hospital emergency department and Peel Health Campus.
It is not known how much the government plans on spending on the purchase of the hospital. The Building Hospitals Fund is comprised of $500 million announced in September and an additional injection of $1 billion announced on November 6.
The Fund will also support a change in sites for the planned Royal Perth Hospital emergency department redevelopment and a new hospital to replace Peel Heath Campus.
By delivering the RPH emergency department project at a new site – at S block – the government hopes to avoid disruption to current operations during the build.
The development is part of a new six-storey block, with two floors set to be dedicated to a new emergency department. Some $33 million has been allocated for planning the project with construction due to begin in 2026.
Further south in the Peel region, a new hospital replace Peel Health Campus. The original plan had been for a redevelopment of the existing Peel Health Campus, but a review identified advantages of building a brand-new hospital on a greenfields site next to the existing location.
The new hospital will include an expanded 39-bed emergency department, a mental health emergency care centre, new cancer treatment facilities and a new operating theatre complex. It will also house dedicated mental health inpatient and palliative care units.
Health Infrastructure Minister John Carey said he had taken a fresh look at how to improve and accelerate the delivery of major hospital projects.
“Bringing St John of God Mt Lawley Hospital into public hands will add new beds to the public system quicker than we can build them,” he said.
“Rescoped projects at both hospitals will deliver new facilities that will serve the public health system for decades to come, while limiting disruption during construction.”
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Premier Roger Cook described this as an historic day for healthcare in WA that would “significantly expand the capacity of our public system”.
Dr Hoath welcomed the announcement, suggesting that up to 200 more hospitals beds could be added to the public system ahead of next winter after the purchase of St John of God Mt Lawley.
“It has been a long and difficult winter, and we’ve been saying we can’t have another winter like this, but these are the kind of investments and changes that we needed to see in order to feel some level of confidence that things are going to get better.
“An extra 200 beds will almost half ramping, would be my estimate. We’re talking about significantly reducing waiting times for people to get in the front door of our health system which is bursting at the seams.
“It will be an immediate benefit; people will notice that the waiting period will be improved.”
Dr Hoath said the AMA (WA) would continue to work with the government on longer term plans to future-proof the state’s health system.
St John of God Health Care Group chief executive Bryan Pyne said while negotiations played out the hospital would continue to provide both private and public healthcare services.
“We’ve seen a reduction in demand for private hospital services in the Mt Lawley area, which is already well served by St John of God Health Care and other private hospitals, while at the same time there is growing demand for private care at our Subiaco, Murdoch and Midland hospitals,” he said.
“Which is why St John of God Health Care is relocating and developing an expanded new Midland Private Hospital – a brand new, state-of-the-art standalone private hospital that will support the current and future health care needs of Perth’s eastern suburbs and the wider Wheatbelt region.”
He added that St John of God Health Care was committed to supporting staff and specialists through the transition process.
“A significant number of caregivers will be provided the opportunity to take up positions at the new Midland Private Hospital once it opens in 2026,” Mr Pyne said.
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