Fremantle Hospital opens new specialist eye unit ahead of $45.5 million mental health expansion

Fremantle Hospital has received a double boost with a new ophthalmology outpatient department opening this week and a state-of-the-art mental health service expansion on the way. The $5.5 million eye specialist unit opened on Tuesday and is intended to accommodate the almost 200 patients its predecessor received daily as one of the busiest outpatient services at Fremantle Hospital. Eye services were previously held in the hospital’s V block. Its upgrade makes it the final service to be relocated from the department, enabling the beginning of redevelopment works for a new 40-bed, three-storey mental health ward. The conversion of the V block is expected to cost $27 million but is part of a broader $45.5 million plan for mental health expansion. The ophthalmology unit was included in this budget. The Metro Inner-South Joint Development Assessment Panel unanimously approved a development application to turn the Alma Street block into a mental health facility last Thursday. Works on the V block will include converting the ground floor into a reception and staff area, constructing a 20-bed secure unit on the first floor, and a 10-bed older adult neurological behavioural unit and a 10-bed open adult mental health ward on the third floor. The ground floor courtyard will also be redeveloped. City of Fremantle councillor and JDAP panel member Bryn Jones said the mental health unit was well-designed that would provide a “particularly high level of amenities for the patients”. “I think this is a facility that will be very welcomed in the community,” Cr Jones said. The approval gives the green light to the State Government to begin work on the development, which is expected to transform Fremantle Hospital into a mental health hub and significantly boost the current 64-bed inpatient admission capacity. Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the new ophthalmology unit would deliver “modernised facilities for patients”. “More than 180 patients use Fremantle Hospital’s ophthalmology service every day and I am pleased they now have a new clinic in which to receive their care,” Ms Sanderson said. “The relocation of the clinic is also an important milestone in our $45.5 million redevelopment of mental health services at Fremantle Hospital as the last service to be moved so the expansion can begin.” The mental health facility is expected to open to the public in early 2024.