Ramsay Health Care : Community to benefit from major transformation of Joondalup Private Hospital

Community to benefit from major transformation of Joondalup Private Hospital March 19, 2024

A $190 million transformation of Ramsay Health Care's Joondalup Private Hospital (Joondalup Private) will provide the local community with further access to high quality private health care closer to home while also creating more jobs locally.

The major expansion will include the establishment of a new state-of-the-art operating theatre complex and a 55 per cent increase in bed capacity giving the community a broader range of elective and emergency private services.

Ramsay Health Care State Manager (WA), Dr Shane Kelly, said the redevelopment aligned with the City of Joondalup's vision to grow the area as a medical precinct by increasing the range of medical services available to Perth's northern corridor, a vision shared by Ramsay Health Care and the State Government.

"With construction due to start shortly it is an exciting time for the community and our staff, for Ramsay and the health system more broadly," Dr Kelly said.

Dr Kelly said the announcement coincided with the State Government and Ramsay Health Care signing a 15 year extension of the Joondalup Health Campus (JHC) public contract. The new contract will see Ramsay operate JHC until 2043.

The expansion, which is fully funded by Ramsay, combined with the $269.4 million State and Federal Government funded public hospital redevelopment underway, will grow the Joondalup Health Campus (public and private) to be among the largest health campuses in WA.

The private development will include six new operating theatres (two to be constructed in the existing theatre block), two day procedure rooms, a day of surgery admissions unit, a 22-bed short stay surgical ward, a 30- bed surgical/medical ward and six cardiac care beds.

The design of the new facilities will incorporate environmental initiatives, such as rooftop solar panels, and will be consistent with the current private hospital "look and feel". It will promote a sense of calm and healing, and many rooms will have views of Lake Joondalup.

Dr Kelly said the new theatre complex, along with 82 additional beds, which includes 30 shelled for future use, would double future admissions to the private hospital, which is expected to have a positive impact on patient flow, including for the campus emergency department.

"A major expansion brings opportunities for growth, and current clinical services planning happening across our specialties will provide the framework for this," Dr Kelly said.

"We intend to build on the services we currently provide but with a significant focus on cardiology procedures, orthopaedics, general surgery, endoscopy and ophthalmology while expanding ear, nose and throat, urology, and vascular surgery.

Ramsay also wants to expand cancer services by doing more cancer surgery at this site, including breast and colorectal surgery. We plan to further integrate cancer services on the site.

Ramsay Health Care Australia Chief Executive Officer, Carmel Monaghan, said the expansion would cement Joondalup Health Campus as one of the country's premier public-private co-located facilities, with all the associated benefits.

"This is an exciting announcement to kick-off Ramsay Health Care's 60th anniversary," Ms Monaghan said.

"We are planning on this being a new and innovative hospital enabled by new technology, including digital and artificial intelligence, which will benefit patients, doctors and our staff.

"The private hospital expansion will lead to hundreds of jobs for the local community, throughout the construction of the new facilities and also through the appointment of more than 170 nurses, allied health and support services staff."

"It will attract additional high calibre specialist medical practitioners to Joondalup and give existing specialists the chance to take on more private work. There will be further research opportunities, which is another benefit for the State," she said.

The new facilities will open in early 2026.