State Government has ‘no start date’ for next stage of Geraldton hospital redevelopment

About six months on from the completion of stage one of the Geraldton Health Campus major revamp, the State Government is yet to confirm when construction will start on the next phase of the project.

With a budget of $73.3 million, plans for the redevelopment include an expanded emergency department, intensive care unit, new mental health service, and a short-stay unit.

The first stage works saw the completion of upgrades to the car park and main hospital entrance in June, with an expanded emergency department, a new intensive care unit and expanded high dependency unit, an integrated mental health unit planned for the next stage of the project.

But Health Minister Roger Cook last week said it was not known when construction would start on these works.

“We don’t have a start date at this stage. At the moment we are reviewing the quotes that we got in relation to the tenders for the next stage of the exciting redevelopment of Geraldton Regional Hospital,” he said.

The State Government initially said the redevelopment would be complete by 2022, but last week confirmed works on the emergency department and integrated mental health unit now had an end date of 2023.

Works in intensive care and expanded high dependency have also been pushed back until 2024.

It is understood demand on the construction industry — compounded by cyclone Seroja — contributed to these delays, with Mr Cook saying resource and labour shortages could continue to plague the project.

“We know the construction industry is under pressure at the moment, both for workforce and materials, so that may have an impact on the project,” he said.

“But we are very confident we can move forward to make sure people in Geraldton have a redeveloped hospital they deserve.

“We are reviewing the response to the tenders and are very much looking forward to getting cracking on this important redevelopment.”