Mr. Cook questions the Minister for Health regarding the practical completion date of Perth Children's Hospital and the feasibility of opening it before the end of the year, given delays and commissioning timelines. The Minister acknowledges delays, blames the contractor, and defers to the Treasurer for a definitive date.

AnsweredQoN 850Legislative Assembly
Asked
8 November 2016
Portfolio
Health

QuestionView source ↗

PERTH CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL —
PRACTICAL COMPLETION
850. Mr R.H. COOK to the Minister for
Health:
I refer to comments made by the
director general of Health that he was expecting advice last week on the date
of practical completion of Perth Children's Hospital and also that it
would take up to 14 weeks from the date of practical completion before the
hospital could be opened. What is the date of practical completion of Perth Children's
Hospital, and is it true that with the commissioning and time lines advised by
the director general, it will be physically impossible for the hospital to open
before the end of this year?

AnswerView source ↗

The member's question
probably would have been better directed to the Treasurer, as Perth Children's
Hospital is, unfortunately, still a construction project and is not as yet a hospital.
However, I am happy to answer the question. It is certainly very frustrating
for everybody involved that the completion of this project has taken so long,
and it is very disappointing for the government and for all those working
within the health system, in particular at Princess Margaret Hospital for
Children, who have wanted to make the move for quite a number of months. The
Premier and I, in good faith and based on the best advice that we had
available, made an announcement in June that we expected the first phase of the
hospital operations to have commenced by now. The most recent advice that we
have had from John Holland, the managing contractor, is that the expected
practical completion date is 30 November, much later than we would have liked;
however, it is still working on particular issues, including elevated lead
levels in the water supply. That is the most recent advice that we have had.
Unfortunately, this date has moved far too often, and the health system will
await further advice from the Office of Strategic Projects, through the
Treasurer, in relation to when the actual practical completion will be, but
that is the indicative date we have been given by John Holland.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more