Skip to main content
Home
  • The Legislative Assembly meets on 16/04/2024 (01:00 PM)
    Assembly sit 16/04/2024
  • The Legislative Council meets on 16/04/2024 (01:00 PM)
    Council sit 16/04/2024
  • The Public Administration meets on 08/04/2024 (10:00 AM)
    Committee meet 08/04/2024

Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 35 asked in the Legislative Council on 13 February 2019 by Hon Martin Aldridge

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

GERALDTON HEALTH CAMPUS — REDEVELOPMENT

35. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Health:

I refer to the $73.3 million business case for the stage 1 redevelopment of Geraldton Health Campus.

(1) Is it correct that the business case is predicated upon meeting demand for services by 2025–26?

(2) Is it correct that the stage 1 redevelopment is not due to be complete until March 2023?

(3) Is the minister aware that the option selected from the business case by him under a heading ''Negative Impacts/Risks'' states —

No change to number of inpatient beds, and increase in the number of Emergency Department treatment spaces will result in an increase in number of ward inpatient bed block episodes. Patients will stay in the Emergency Area for longer periods of time while they are waiting for an inpatient bed;

(4) Given the recent event of an 84-year-old grandmother waiting on the floor of the Geraldton emergency department and the minister's own admission that this was ''appalling and unacceptable'', when will he acknowledge that the government's hospital upgrade is grossly inadequate and over budget?

Hon ALANNA CLOHESY replied:

I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. I am advised of the following.

(1) Yes. The business case for the stage 1 redevelopment of Geraldton Health Campus addresses current demand and increasing activity and accommodates the projected demand for services to 2025–26. The business case for redevelopment of the GHC was outlined as a staged approach. Stage 2 and 3 redevelopments are expected to address the remaining service objectives.

(2) No. The construction, completion and commissioning of the stage 1 redevelopment of the GHC is projected for the first half of 2022.

(3) The stage 1 redevelopment of the GHC will deliver the following new build additional beds: 12 mental health inpatient unit beds; four mental health short-stay unit beds; eight high-dependency unit/intensive care beds, co-located with the emergency department; and 10 additional emergency department treatment bays. An additional four emergency department short-stay beds have been able to be accommodated within the available funding and this will increase the additional new beds to a total of 38.

Existing beds currently occupied by mental health and high-dependency inpatients on the general ward will become available for general ward patient utilisation, therefore providing additional inpatient capacity.

(4) The business case for redevelopment of the GHC outlines a staged approach. The stage 2 and 3 redevelopments are expected to address the remaining service objectives.