Hospital celebrates one year

The $170 million Albany Health Campus turned one years old on Saturday, with tens of thousands of people passing through its doors over the first year.

Since May last year 600 babies were born, 24,127 people were presented to the emergency department, 14,769 patients admitted and 58,125 people seen as outpatients.

Campus operations manager Kylie Oliver said one of the biggest hurdles was working in a completely new environment, although training conducted before the move helped staff.

“It’s a brand new facility so we have air-conditioning — the comforts of the environment can be controlled through the system,” she said.

“We’ve managed to keep our performance high, for example, the emergency department, we’ve managed to maintain our four-hour rule target and from an elective surgery perspective, we’ve maintained our performance.”

Ms Oliver said the co-locating services such as aged care, child health and cancer services had benefitted staff members and the community.

She said the next year for the hospital would be “exciting”.

“We’ve got the proposed build of the new hospice and we’ve the build of the cancer accommodation,” Ms Oliver said.

Health Minister Kim Hames said people in the Great Southern had benefitted from the one-stop shop nature of the campus. “Installation of an MRI machine is underway and it is expected that it will be operating in the second half of the year,” Dr Hames said.

Maternity ward nurse manager Angie Farlie said maternity ward facilities had improved greatly.

“For maternity it’s very exciting, the old building was very old so to come up here to this beautiful new building with ensuites in all the birthing suites, it was just awesome,” she said.

“We have been able to conduct water births because of that.”