A new $200 million development, incorporating a medihotel, will deliver a better experience for recuperating patients and free up hospital beds so more patients can be treated.
The 80-bed Medihotel Murdoch will be part of the first stage of the Murdoch Health and Knowledge Precinct development and is due for completion in early 2023.
The State Government will invest $55.5 million over four years towards the operational costs of the 80 beds.
WA Health has partnered with Hesperia and Aegis Aged Care Group to deliver the project.
The medihotel, which will be operated by Aegis Aged Care, will deliver up to 80 beds, operate 24 hours, seven days per week, and is expected to divert up to 4,500 patients each year from busy public hospitals.
The facility will provide medical and nursing support for patients who have been discharged from hospital but are not yet ready to return home.
Comprehensive primary health care services will also be located on site including an Urgent Care Clinic with minor trauma rooms and general practitioner services, such as pharmacy, imaging and pathology.
The development, adjacent to two of Western Australia’s biggest hospitals – Fiona Stanley Hospital and St John of God Murdoch, will also offer prevention and chronic disease management, rehabilitation and life skills training to divert people from hospital, decrease hospital admissions and help prevent patient readmissions.
This will be of particular advantage to country patients as it will help prevent their readmission to rural and regional hospitals after an acute episode of care in Perth.
Other facilities planned for the precinct include a Transitional Recovery Unit for mental health patients requiring long-term rehabilitation and end of life care for patients who do not need specialist high level hospice care.
Construction on the Murdoch development is expected to start later this year with practical completion anticipated in early 2023.