The Health Reform Committee report of March 2004 recommended a fundamental reconfiguration of the state's health system during the next 15 years. The Government’s recent allocation of $3.6 billion with the release of the 'WA Health Clinical Services Frame
The State Government’s proposal to spend $3.6 billion on health during the coming decade will not only significantly upgrade the health care system, but could also trigger a series of large urban developments.
When Princess Margaret Hospital is relocated to the 55,000 square metre buildings on the north block of Royal Perth Hospital, a huge site with a 30,000sq m footprint will become vacant on the eastern side of Subiaco.
And when RPH’s clinical services are relocated to the new Fiona Stanley Hospital in Murdoch, 78,000sq m of space will be left freed up on the south block site, creating what could be the biggest development site in the city.
No future uses have yet been earmarked for the government-owned PMH and RPH sites that will be left vacant, but both the City of Perth and the City of Subiaco believe there are excellent development opportunities, with the possibility for significant residential development.
Developer and former town planner Luke Saraceni said the Subiaco site would go exceptionally well if it became either commercial or residential, but that the RPH site would be better suited to residential.
“The Subiaco site is the primest of the sites, and there will be a lot of interest,” he said.
“Without fail, people will be knocking down what is on those sites if they can and starting again.
“When you attempt to keep existing buildings and refurbish them, it inevitably ends up cheaper to just knock them down and start again.”
While State Government architect and professor of architecture at the University of Western Australia, Geoffrey London, said he had not seen details of what was being planned for the sites, a clean slate at the RPH site would be suited to residential development.
“However, there are some buildings worth retaining and I’m sure the Heritage Council would have something to say about that,” Professor London said.
City of Subiaco director of development Geoff Glass last week told WA Business News that he had not received any indication of what uses were proposed for the PMH site.
“I imagine they will be either used for a public purpose or sold off, but they will remain significant development sites and will have significant use,” Mr Glass said.
“The impact of the closure of PMH may be quite marginal; the medical and health industry is the largest employer in Subiaco and we don’t see that changing.”
Last week’s State Government announcement that the suburb of Murdoch is to become a multi-million dollar transit-oriented development (TOD) centre focusing on the medical and educational facilities will provide another opportunity to create urban fabric around health infrastructure.
The TOD will focus on the $742 million Fiona Stanley Hospital, St John of God Hospital, Murdoch University and Challenger TAFE.
The State Government has been pushing TODs as part of the Network City program, which aims at increasing urban density and curbing sprawl into the outer suburbs.
Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan said that, if there was going to be a site with the potential for limited car use, then it was Murdoch.
She said there was an opportunity to better use public transport and the freeway to create a counter flow of movement of people by having a centre away from the city.
“To integrate it all is a huge challenge, but an enormous opportunity,” Ms MacTiernan said.
“LandCorp is working with the Department of Planning and Infrastructure and the Department of Health to plan it all, and by December 2005 we are hoping to release a structure plan identifying sites available for development.”
Of particular significance is a four-hectare site above the car park at Murdoch train station, for which expressions of interest will be called for in March.
The State Government announced late last month a funding increase from $2.7 billion to $3.6 billion to upgrade the health system and implement the findings of the Reid Report.
The Government will spend $222 million to relocate PMH to the north block of RPH once RPH’s clinical services are relocated to Fiona Stanley Hospital in 2011.
The cost of the 610-bed Fiona Stanley Hospital, to be built in Perth’s southern suburbs, has increased from $420 million to $742 million.
The new hospital will be the state’s flagship health facility, becoming the centre for treatment of major trauma, burns and heart and lung transplants.
A new emergency department will replace the tertiary emergency services at Fremantle and RPH, and a new State Rehabilitation Centre will replace the Shenton Park Rehabilitation Hospital.
The effective doubling of the size of Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital at the cost of $546 million is also part of the reform agenda. So too are the $183 million for development of the existing Swan District Hospital or a new hospital in Midland, a $100 million increase in funding for the redevelopment of Joondalup Health Campus, and $206 million for country hospitals.
Armadale Kelmscott Memorial Hospital and Rockingham-Kwinana District Hospital will be upgraded to general hospitals by 2011, while Bentley ($23 million), Osborne Park ($79 million), Kalamunda ($15.4 million) and King Edward Memorial Hospital ($20 million) will undergo significant upgrades.
Reaction from the medical profession has been mostly supportive of the reforms, although Australian Medical Association president Paul Skerritt expressed concern over the moving of PMH to the city.
“Putting a children’s hospital in the middle of the city raises serious social issues for parents bringing their kids into emergency departments late at night,” Dr Skerritt said.
RPH clinical staff strongly supported the move to establish a major tertiary hospital in the southern suburbs as a partnership between RPH and Fremantle Hospital clinical staff.
It had previously been suggested that public private partnerships would be a good way of delivering the health system upgrades, with the private sector building and running what is traditionally government infrastructure.
Western Australia only has one proper PPP currently under way – the CBD Courts Project – and Health Minister Jim McGinty has effectively ruled out PPPs for health projects.
Mr McGinty told WA Business News in August that he would not extend private sector involvement to provision of services such as linen, laundry, catering and cleaning, which would make a fully fledged PPP unviable.
The state’s largest private hospital, St John of God Subiaco, is undergoing a major $100 million redevelopment, which includes the creation of a Comprehensive Cancer Centre and the extension of Subiaco Medical Clinic. The St John of God redevelopment is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2007.
