The West Australian government has officially opened the $2 billion Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth. Source: AAP
AFTER a series of stumbling blocks including delays, cost blow-outs and technology problems, Australia’s most advanced hospital has finally opened in Perth’s south.
THE $2 billion Fiona Stanley Hospital in Murdoch was expected to open in April but instead, the first stage was opened on Friday and the facility will not be fully operational until next year.
It was initially planned to be WA’s first paperless hospital, with mobile computers and tablets used to record patient information. But problems implementing the system caused delays and the paperless plan was scrapped. A contract with Serco, the hospital’s private operator of non-clinical services, also had to be renegotiated. But for all its controversies, the hospital is a world-class facility that will have 783 beds when fully operational. Premier Colin Barnett said it was the first new-build tertiary hospital in WA for more than 50 years. “Fiona Stanley Hospital is a revolutionary facility that provides patient comfort and care innovation, architectural design and health service delivery never before seen in WA,” he said. Health Minister Kim Hames said patient admission would occur in phases to test all systems at the hospital. Phase One includes the four-storey, 140-bed State Rehabilitation Service and associated support services such as pathology, pharmacy, imaging and non-clinical services in the main hospital, Dr Hames said. On Saturday, about 120 patients will move from the Shenton Park Campus to the new rehabilitation facilities at Fiona Stanley Hospital, he said. Phase Two in November will see clinical services begin within the main hospital and the introduction of selected general surgical, orthopaedic, anaesthetic and obstetric services. The emergency department is expected to open in February, during Phase Three. WA Labor, which started the project when it was in government, has since been critical of the state government’s handling of the project. However, it welcomed the opening.