The proposed expansion would enable the hospital to provide a greater range of services and continue providing high quality care for more patients in a world-class facility.

Plans are now available for community consultation.

St John of God Subiaco Hospital CEO Professor Shirley Bowen said that council and community input were an important part of the process.

“We have played a significant role in the lives of so many Western Australians for more than 120 years, and it is fitting that we engage with community and health care consumers as we plan this redevelopment to offer our community new and expanded services, and continue to build our specialties and expertise.

“Being able to offer an Emergency Department at Subiaco has long been a goal of ours, and this 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.

“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 Fetal Assessment Unit.”

The new 20 bed Emergency Department will be accessed from Salvado Road and provide a 24/7 emergency high quality care service for both adults and children.

The planned redevelopment will expand and revitalise the hospital’s current facilities and services. 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 extension project.

The existing wards are planned to have significant upgrades to provide refreshed patient areas and larger single rooms. An additional 222 new car bays will be provided to accommodate growing patient and visitor numbers, and there will be a significant enhancement to public open spaces.

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

“We look forward to engaging our patients, caregivers, specialists and the broader community in regular updates and celebrations as we reach milestones throughout the project. We anticipate that our redevelopment will be undertaken in five phases to allow our existing services and high quality care provision to continue uninterrupted,” Professor Bowen said.

A construction partner will be sought in late 2020 to commence detailed planning, and to assist with timeframes and costings.