Subi hospital ripe for redevelopment

St John of God Subiaco Hospital has lodged plans with the Town of Cambridge for a proposed revamp and expansion.

The project was put on hold amid COVID-19, but plans are now available for community consultation.

The proposal includes plans for a new 20-bed Emergency Department, which will be accessed from Salvado Road and will provide 24-7 care for both adults and children, as well as a dedicated Mother and Baby Centre on the Subiaco site.

St John of God Subiaco Hospital chief executive Shirley Bowen said being able to offer an emergency department at Subiaco had been a long-term goal for the organisation.

"[T]his, coupled with the extension, refurbishment and expansion of our existing services and facilities, would go a long way to meeting the needs of the growing WA population,” Professor Bowen said.

“As WA’s leading private obstetric hospital, where as many as 3,000 babies are born each year, it is a natural progression for us to expand and revitalise these specialist services with a new Mother and Baby Centre comprising 66 large bedroom suites, an obstetric theatre, a 26-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and a Maternal Foetal Assessment Unit.”

As part of the redevelopment, theatres are proposed to increase from 23 to 26, and 50 new beds are to be added (30 overnight and 20 day beds).

Specialist medical suites and a research and education centre are also planned in the staged expansion project, with existing wards to be upgraded, with an additional 222 car bays to be provided to accommodate growing patient and visitor numbers.

The campus’ public open spaces are also in line for significant enhancement. 

Construction is expected to begin in 2021, with an initial focus on site engineering upgrades.

The organisation said it would commence the search for a construction partner later this year, to commence detailed planning and assist with timeframes and final costings.

In 2018, the group cited $200 million as an estimated cost for the project.