Albany Health Campus redevelopment: Cost to expand decade-old campus almost double that of original project

A decade after the Albany Health Campus opened as a $170 million facility, a business case for an expansion costing “in the order of” $320m is awaiting funding despite an “inability” to meet demand.

AHC was officially opened in May 2013 by Colin Barnett and Kim Hames, at the time the premier and health minister, respectively.

When it was opened it had 134 inpatient beds and chairs which were set to provide a service up to 60,000 people a year.

Over the past decade the capacity had grown by a further 11 beds and chairs.

It includes 81 acute multi-day stay beds, 18 same-day surgery beds, five dialysis chairs, five chemotherapy chairs and a 16-bed acute psychiatric unit in the Albany Hospital.

The AHC emergency department has eight acute care bays, four fast-track bays, two resuscitation bays, one consult room, one plaster room and a four-bed short stay unit.

The 2023-24 State Budget delivered in May included $2.1m for an extra 100 car bays at AHC and $10.1m for the Albany General Dental Clinic.

Documents attained by an Upper House MP through freedom of information reveal a business case for the campus was completed in December 2021, which had subsequently been submitted to Treasury.

Those documents show the redevelopment costing were “significantly higher” than expected and the delivery of the full scope would likely take six years.