Albany Health Campus redevelopment: Business case ‘in order of’ $320m knocked back in 2023-24 State Budget

A submission to Treasury putting forward the case for a $320 million two-stage redevelopment of Albany Health Campus was knocked back for funding in the 2023-24 State Budget. The matter was raised in Parliament’s Upper House on June 13 by independent South West MLC James Hayward, who said not funding the AHC expansion was “another missed opportunity in the Budget”. Mr Hayward told Parliament he had used freedom of information to acquire documents indicating more than $300m had been requested for an expansion “which was critical in 2021 and I assure members is still critical today”. “I urge my Labor Party colleagues and other members of the South West in this House and the local member to take that argument for Albany hospital to the new Premier and new Treasurer and make sure we do not miss out on this expansion in next year’s Budget,” he said. “We all understand that the Government responds at the pace in which it responds and that these things take a long time. “If things were critical in 2020 and 2021, there is no way that by 2030, it is not going to be absolutely overrun.” An agenda document from a December 2021 WA Country Health Service infrastructure steering group meeting indicates a two-stage redevelopment was being put forward in a business case because costings “in the order of” $320m were “significantly more than originally estimated”. An agenda document from a November 2021 WACHS board meeting attributed the heightened project cost to WA’s construction market being “significantly over heated” and that the program to deliver the full scope of work would be six years long. It shows that stage one works would include a new mental health building. The main entry, the health information unit, the emergency department, intensive care and high-dependency care units and the geriatric evaluation management unit would also be stage one focuses. Stage two would involve the pharmacy being moved to new location and the discharge lounge and multi-faith room moved to level two. Attention would also be given to ambulatory care and allied health, population health and paediatric hub, while the operating theatre would be refurbished. The agenda also notes the expected cost of delivering the master plan would be over $63,000. A WACHS report from April 2022 indicated AHC had an inability “to meet patient care demand due to facility capacity, which can lead to delays or adverse outcomes to consumers”. The same document also noted a hospital avoidance team had been funded to help reduce demand on the campus. Minutes of the Albany Medical Advisory Committee’s September meeting showed the hospital avoidance program had handled more than 200 referrals and there was a push for it to be expanded. January’s AMAC minutes indicate the AHC’s Hospital in the Home program had also been expanded from one full-time employee to four in a further effort to reduce pressure on capacity. The program was “starting to mould” together with the hospital avoidance program. The business case for the expansion, which was completed in December of 2021, and a document of consolidated feedback were two of the four documents not provided to Mr Hayward due to being “part of an agency’s deliberative processes”. WACHS Great Southern executive director Evelyn Quinn said it was “no secret” AHC was busy, but ways of “actively managing high levels of activity” had been implemented. She said a redevelopment was not the only way for the campus to meet demand. “To help relieve the pressure on our emergency department, and to increase bed availability, we implemented a hospital avoidance program that later grew into our HomeSafe initiative,” she said. “HomeSafe ensures people receive the right care, in the right place and sees the emergency department reserved for the most urgent cases. “In its first six months of operation, HomeSafe has seen a 10 per cent decrease in unnecessary admissions and, alongside other patient flow initiatives, increased overall bed availability at Albany Health Campus by around 25 per cent.” She said the initiative had also helped prevent potential unplanned admissions by supporting discharged patients at home. “In January alone, this translated to 44 saved bed days or 24 unnecessary admissions,” she said. “Like the community, we are passionate about futureproofing Albany Health Campus — but that doesn’t start and stop at a brick-and-mortar redevelopment. “We know initiatives like HomeSafe help us to free up beds for those who need them most, while also increasing the accessibility and effectiveness of our care.”