Basil Zempilas is set to launch a major offensive on hospitals, slamming the Cook Government’s failure to plan ahead and promising to build a new hospital in Yanchep - if he clinches a come-from-behind win in 2029.
The Opposition Leader will use a major keynote speech on Monday to stake his claim for the State’s top job a full 33 months out from the next election - by promising to build a new hospital and upgrade Joondalup’s hospital to a tertiary facility.
He will argue Labor’s failure to plan ahead has left Perth’s northern suburbs behind.
“They didn’t plan, and they’re now in a desperate game of catch up. We won’t repeat the same mistakes,” he will tell business leaders, according to a draft version of his speech seen by The West Australian.
“Healthcare in the northern suburbs is struggling to keep pace with growth.
“We will get ahead of this by building a new hospital at Yanchep and by upgrading Joondalup Health Campus to become a major tertiary teaching hospital.”
A 9.6 hectare site near the new Yanchep train station was purchased by the WA Planning Commission in 2018, with internal documents stating it could be used for a potential hospital - but marked subject to change.
In June last year, Premier Roger Cook wouldn’t be drawn on a timeline.
“We are waiting for the Yanchep community to continue to grow so that we can have a hospital to meet its needs. We know the footprint. It’s a planned community,” he said.
“You can’t have a hospital, essentially, with staff standing by beds ticking over slowly, waiting for the for the people to come.”
Mr Zempilas will challenge the Premier, by promising to start work on a Yanchep hospital “immediately” - if elected.
“We will start planning for a new hospital on that site from day one of government,” he says.
“Our intention is to build the hospital with a capacity of up to 250 beds to include a 24/7 emergency department, inpatient and outpatient services and mental health capabilities as well as capacity for future expansion as part of a broader health campus.
“We will begin construction in the first term of government.”
The price-tag will be estimated at $600 million, with Mr Zempilas set to renew the Liberal party’s pledge to establish an independent parliamentary Budget office - that was promised by Labor in 2017, but abandoned once in power.
A further $250 million would be put towards upgrading Joondalup hospital to “future proof” healthcare in Perth’s north.
“For patients, this means more complex care can be delivered closer to where they live,” Mr Zempilas will say.
“Again, this will be fully costed ahead of the election.
“As well as safeguarding health care delivery in the region for years to come, our plan will also help release the pressure being felt every day across the broader hospital system, including at Sir Charles Gairdner, Royal Perth and Midland hospitals.
“This announcement is about making health a priority.”
The Cook Government has been on the back foot on health, with 5,383 hours of ambulance ramping last month setting an unwanted new record for May.
Ramping is recorded whenever an ambulance is stuck outside a hospital for more than 30 minutes, waiting to hand over a patient.
Health Minister Meredith Hammat blamed a record number of elderly patients in limbo waiting for aged care, that’s a Commonwealth responsibility.
“It’s 352 people in that situation today. So, that’s a significant number of people who need care, but hospital level care is not the best arrangement for them,” she said last week.
“That’s why we’ve invested heavily into ‘Time to Think’ beds. It’s also why we’ve invested in our low interest loan scheme, and it’s also why we’re calling on the federal government to do more in this space.
“It’s something that every state around Australia is experiencing, and we know that it will continue to put pressure on our hospitals.”
Three consecutive months of ramping in excess of 7000 hours last year and The West Australian’s Hospital of Horrors investigations sparked public outrage that forced the Government to announce a new Building Hospitals Fund - boosted to $2 billion in last month’s State Budget.
The Government has spent $80 million buying the Mount Lawley Hospital, with planning underway for a new Royal Perth Hospital emergency department and construction of a new Peel Health Campus underway.
Mr Zempilas argues Labor’s plans are too little and too late.
“Make no mistake, that was money they had no intention of spending on Health,” he will say.
“This is about getting ahead of the pressure and delivering for the future, not waiting until the hospital system reaches breaking point and then scrambling to catch up.”
The Opposition will start the race for 2029 from a long way behind with 13 seats in the Legislative Assembly - seven Liberal and six Nationals - and 30 required to claim victory.
The northern suburbs could be be a key battleground, with Labor currently holding the seats of Joondalup with a 13 per cent margin, and Kingsley just seven per cent or less than 2000 votes.
Labor’s margins are safer in Swan Hills - 17 per cent, and Butler - 29 per cent.
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