Planning belatedly starts for new hospital

The state government has spent just $16,500 on a feasibility analysis to support shifting the $1.8 billion Women and Babies Hospital to Murdoch, Business News has learned.

It also emerged this week that the government has only just awarded its first contract for planning at the new site.

Engineering firm BG&E has been awarded a $133,000 contract to prepare a project definition plan for civil and structural engineering at the Murdoch site.

This comes three months after the government switched the hospital’s location from the QEII medical centre in Nedlands to a site behind Fiona Stanley Hospital in Murdoch.

The decision shocked the medical community, as the QEII site had for many years been accepted as the best option.

The government spent $10.4 million on planning for the original project before deciding at the 11th hour to move to a new location.

This included $1.7 million paid to PwC to prepare a business case to support the transfer of the state’s existing maternity hospital – King Edward Memorial Hospital in Subiaco – to the QEII site.

Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson has defended the government’s new plan by claiming most of the analysis for the QEII site remained valid.

“The vast majority of the business case and project definition plan for the QEII site applies to the new Women and Babies Hospital at Murdoch,” a spokesperson for the minister said.

“To make sure the Murdoch site will be fit-for-purpose now and into the future, we also undertook a feasibility analysis at a cost of $16,500.”

When Business News asked who undertook the analysis and when it was completed, we were told: “The Department of Health has advised this is commercial-in-confidence”.

Liberal Party WA leader Libby Mettam said this was an extraordinary revelation.

“It shows how little they have spent on planning for such a significant decision,” she said.

“Despite the government’s long-standing commitment to the QEII site and funds committed and work already done to progress the Women and Babies Hospital at that site, we are now going back to the drawing board.”

“This goes against the strong advice of clinicians, who were totally blindsided by this change, and have raised concerns of serious clinical risks at the new location and the departure from the gold standard practice of having the Women and Babies Hospital close to Perth Children’s Hospital.

“We are still yet to see the business case, which was promised when this ‘captain’s call’ was made several months ago.”

Ms Sanderson’s office revealed today the business case was expected to be released on or after 8 August, when state parliament resumes.

“As appropriate the business case needs to be assessed in detail before being tabled, due to commercial sensitivities,” the spokesperson said.

“It is expected the document will be ready to be tabled in Parliament when it returns.”

Adding to the lack of scrutiny so far, the project has not been referred to Infrastructure WA, which normally assesses all new projects costing more than $100 million.

The government said a referral was not needed because the decision to build a new hospital pre-dated the establishment of Infrastructure WA.

“There is nothing under the existing law that requires it to be assessed by IWA, because the decision (to build a new hospital) was made before Infrastructure WA’s functions commenced,” former premier Mark McGowan said in May.

Ms Sanderson’s spokesperson claimed today the civil and engineering planning was being undertaken for the new hospital “just like it would be for any major project”.

The spokesperson added that most of the planning was unaffected by the location.

“As the project moves forward, we are working with health planners, engineers and other building and construction specialists who would have been engaged regardless of where the hospital was located,” they said.

However, that ignores the critical role played by the specific location, a point the minister highlighted when she explained the decision to switch to Murdoch.

"The potential disruption to patients and staff is far greater than first anticipated at the QEII site,” Ms Sanderson said in April.

The government reached that conclusion only after spending $10.4 million on planning.

Despite the lack of preparatory work at Murdoch, the government has forecast site works will begin in 2024.

It has also claimed construction of the hospital would be completed much faster at Murdoch.

The proposed site is at the southern end of Fiona Stanley Hospital, with the government saying it would therefore not be affected by construction or traffic congestion on the northern side.