The Western Australian government has decided to abandon its plans to build a $1.8 billion maternity hospital at the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre site in Nedlands. Instead, the hospital will now be constructed at the Fiona Stanley Hospital precinct in Murdoch. This new hospital will offer an expanded range of services and an increased number of beds for obstetrics and gynecology, including neonatal cots.

Initially, the project was initiated in December 2020, and concept designs were released by Hassell in February 2021. However, in January 2022, it was announced that the QEII Medical Centre site, which is co-located with Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Perth Children's Hospital, was chosen for the construction of the new hospital. Unfortunately, a business case and project definition plan found that the site posed too many risks, leading to the decision to abandon plans.

In a statement, the Western Australian government explained that the QEII site would have caused significant disruption to the neighboring Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, which would have impacted patients and staff, increased building costs, and delayed the opening of the hospital due to the complex nature of the build. Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan expressed that "it would have been irresponsible to proceed with a new hospital at QEII given the unacceptable disruption to patients and staff that has been identified through the planning process."

Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson supported the decision to move the hospital's location, saying, "A key consideration of the co-location of the Women’s and Babies Hospital with a tertiary hospital is to ensure that our sickest women have access to a state-of-the-art ICU. This makes FSH the obvious choice."

The Fiona Stanley Hospital precinct in Murdoch is a well-connected location, located close to a medihotel and the Murdoch railway station. Site works are expected to begin in 2024, with the new hospital providing state-of-the-art healthcare facilities for women and babies in the Western Australian community.

Source: ArchitectureAU

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