8 June 2011

Each year, close to 3,000 South West residents are hospitalised in Perth for acute cardiac conditions, or have to travel to Perth to undergo cardiac angiography. The new CCU facility in Bunbury will enable public and private patients to access quality care within the South West, nearer to families and support networks.

The state of the art six-bed CCU is co-funded by the State’s Royalties for Regions program and the WA-based, not-for-profit St John of God Health Care. The CCU will be complemented by a state of
the art cardiac angiography suite.

Both facilities will significantly improve health outcomes for public and private patients in the South West and are expected to open by October 2012.

St John of God Health Care’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr Michael Stanford, said: “Regional centres of equivalent size in other Australian States already have access to coronary care units and
angiography services. We are delighted to be in a position, greatly helped by Royalties for Regions funding, to now deliver high quality cardiac investigation and treatment services for people in the
South West.

“As Western Australia’s only provider of non-government regional private hospitals, we work closely with the public sector to deliver the best health care for regional WA communities in the South and
Mid West. Already in the South West, we provide renal dialysis, palliative care, oncology and community alcohol and drug services for public and private patients,” he said.

Commenting on today’s announcement of the $5 million Royalties for Regions funding towards the coronary care unit, the Chief Executive Officer of St John of God Hospital Bunbury, Mr Mark Grime,
said it confirmed the State Government’s commitment to regional health care.

“Combined with our contribution, it will enable St John of God Hospital Bunbury to diagnose and treat people with cardiac disease much earlier, which is crucial to improving health outcomes.”

A key measure of the success of the South West Health Campus – which opened in 1999 when St John of God Hospital Bunbury co-located with Bunbury Hospital – was improved access to
specialist health services closer to home for regional West Australians.

Mr Grime said: “The CCU achieves this and is another example of public and private health systems working together and avoiding duplication of services.”

He explained that as well as increasing and improving capacity, technology, and facilities – which had a flow on effect in attracting new and resident medical specialists to regional Western Australia
– it would also create local jobs for nursing, allied health and support staff.