Joondalup is the centre of Western Australia’s health and medical sector in Perth’s north and is poised to become a State leader in emerging digital capability, robotics and automation, education and training and clinical research as it looks to build a collaborative health innovation precinct.
That was the recurring view of presenters at the City of Joondalup’s recent health innovation business forum at Joondalup Resort.
Servicing Perth’s northern corridor and beyond, Joondalup has nearly half a million people living within a 20-minute drive of its City Centre already, with even more people moving in and transport connections getting better all the time.
Keynote speaker Ramsay Health CEO Carmel Monaghan praised the City of Joondalup and its Council for its growth mindset, which aligns with Ramsay’s own focus on the importance of embracing digital innovation to drive future efficiencies and productivity in the medical sector.
This includes the likes of AI, robotics and digital learning.
“There’s just so much opportunity in this space for health care,” she said.
“The time saving that will come from these new technologies will really drive that productivity we need and more efficiencies in the sector,”.
Ms Monaghan stated the recently approved $77 million expansion of Ramsay’s private hospital was the start of an exciting new era for Joondalup Health Campus, the largest healthcare facility in the northern metropolitan region.
She said Joondalup is ideally located as a centre for clinical trials and medical research with increased investment in clinical trials at Ramsay and the continued growth and expansion of Linear Technologies, which opened in Joondalup in 2022.
“Clinical trials are essential, and they are changing the lives of so many people”, she said.
Joondalup Mayor Albert Jacob said Joondalup offered an unrivalled environment for business growth in the health and medical space.
“As a local government, we recognise the significance of health services in supporting the whole community and ensuring access to essential care,” he said.
“Our goal is to build Joondalup’s reputation as a place for innovation and creativity by enhancing growth across a range of sectors – including health and medicine.”
Mayor Jacob said the development and expansion of the health campus had led to tremendous growth in ancillary and allied services and activities, ensuring Joondalup was well positioned to attract more local and global talent, research and investment.
“Joondalup is a place where state-of-the-art facilities, the latest medical technology, healthcare professionals, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors can come together to address current and future healthcare challenges,” he said.
The Health Innovation Forum coincided with the release of the top-line findings from the Joondalup Medical Gap Analysis. The report, commissioned by the Joondalup Medical Precinct Taskforce, identifies gaps and opportunities in the health and medical sector in the region, with a focus on developing Joondalup as the centre for health innovation.
Conducted by Paxon Group in collaboration with the Medical Precinct Taskforce, the State Government and key industry stakeholders, the analysis confirmed Joondalup as a competitive health and medical precinct destination and recognised its key strengths and capabilities in education and training and health service provision.
It further identified Joondalup’s capability to become:
- A recognised centre for health education and training
- A metropolis for Integrated Health Care
- A leading centre for digital health solutions and
- An ideal location to explore health automation solutions.
A panel of industry professionals including Dr Shirley Bowen, CEO of the North Metropolitan Health Service; Linda Dawson, Deputy Director General, Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation; Mohinder Jaimangal, Curve Tomorrow CEO; and Rodrigo Torres, Executive Manager, Linear Clinical Research, explored Joondalup’s current and future presence in the global health and medical sector.
Ms Dawson confirmed health and medical life sciences as a growth sector for WA and that “digital health, med-tech, bio-tech is fundamental and at the core of one of the capabilities that we want to grow.”
“We know communities and nations with strong and effective health systems are those that value and invest in health innovation and medical research,” she said.
The Joondalup Medical Precinct Taskforce is continuing to build on the outcomes of the analysis, and work towards a unified vision for the Joondalup health and medical hub, to support the State’s vision for Western Australia as a global leader in health service provision. To find out more visit joondalup.wa.gov.au/health.
