Regional healthcare takes another step forwards

Expressions of interest are being sought for the next stage of the Great Southern Health Precinct, with earthworks set to begin on stage one of the Cockburn Road site this month.

Great Southern Specialist Centre and Albany Day Hospital are set to be complete next May and June respectively, after development applications were approved last month. Realforce development manager John Boccomazzo said the next stages of development aimed to fill gaps in the Albany medical sector, particularly in areas of nuclear medicine, pathology, radiology, allied health and pharmacy.

“What we are looking for is stuff to complement what we have started, so everything is complementing the health centre,” he said.

Specialist centre media liaison officer Sarah Bowles said the current development of the six-room centre and private hospital would provide services missing in the region.

“If you look at the healthcare requirements of the community, you need a balance between public and private,” she said.

“This starts to meet the capacity to draw more specialists to town.

“There is a capacity for them to increase their work.”

Albany Day Hospital by Montserrat Group will conduct minor day surgeries and WA regional manager Fiona Cooper said the hospital would complement Albany Health Campus.

“It means that we can provide care locally for people who choose to use their private health insurance,” she said.

‘It generally means you can be seen much quicker and you don’t need to go to Perth for procedures that can be done in a day.”