Hospital beds cut to pay for Fiona Stanley Hospital IT

Tuesday 03 Jun 2014

During the recent State Budget estimates, Shadow Health Minister Roger Cook accused Health Minister Kim Hames of "cancelling the building of beds at Osborne Park Hospital and subsequently the Graylands Hospital redevelopment because of his mismanagement of the ICT issues at Fiona Stanley Hospital."

Media reports show that $18.5 million out of the Health Department's asset investment program has been "reprioritised" to partially pay for a $40 million top-up in funding for the new facility, which has incurred additional technology costs due to a six month delay in establishing clinical systems.

The money includes $14.3 million taken out of the state's plans to provide 50 new mental health beds at its Osborne Park Hospital, to take the pressure off the Graylands hospital as it undergoes a phased redevelopment.

The state has also taken $3.7 million out of the Joondalup Health Campus redevelopment and $500,000 out of general capital works at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

The Chief Executive of the North Metropolitan Health Service, Dr Shane Kelly, reportedly conceded $14 million had been taken out of the $40 million originally allocated, leaving just $26 million in the project budget.

The WA Parliament's education and health committee has formally called on the state's Health department to appoint a permanent chief information officer with haste, as four years of acting executives has undermined its IT capabilities.

The HSUWA supports Mr Cook's comments and believes this lack of leadership and political failures have contributed to these major losses for WA taxpayers and delays at FSH.