THERE is one entity that already appears a certain winner in the March State Election and it is not Labor or the Liberals.
Joondalup Health Campus is set to benefit no matter which party wins the poll after Labor on Saturday committed $167 million to the hospital after the Liberals’ $140 million offer last month.
A Labor Government would add 90 public beds, up to 30 mental health beds and eight operating theatres should it win office.
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READ NOWMORE: Joondalup Health Campus to benefit from WA State Election battle
It matched the Liberals’ pledge, with the State Government also proposing 90 public beds, 25 to 30 mental health beds and eight operating theatres.
Both parties would expand the emergency department and build a bigger carpark.
Labor’s bid differed in its plan to add a six-bed stroke unit, an urgent care clinic and a “Medihotel”.
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The party claimed the Medihotel would free up beds by housing patients who have completed their major treatment but are still recovering.
The urgent care clinic would cater for patients who attend the emergency department but do not need immediate treatment.
Opposition Leader Mark McGowan described the necessity of a hospital development.
“The expansion and the introduction of a Medihotel and urgent care clinic will take pressure off the busy emergency department and reduce wait times for patients,” he said.
“It’s clear there is a need for additional beds to deal with increased demand for mental health services.”
Health Minister John Day described Labor’s plan as “essentially a repeat” of the Liberals’ plan.
He said an urgent care clinic would be a waste of money because St John Ambulance had established one in Joondalup seven months ago.
He described the Medihotel as a “$20 million taxpayer-funded hotel when the big issue is moving patients, who don’t need high-level care, out of our hospitals”.