Perth Children’s on issues in commissioning a new hospital – the reality

Christopher Blyth^1,2,3

¹Perth Children’s Hospital, Hospital Avenue, Nedlands, WA 6009, christopher.blyth@uwa.edu.au
²School of Medicine and Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, 6009
³PathWest Laboratory Medicine, WA, Nedlands, WA 6009

Perth Children’s Hospital opened in June 2018, almost three years later than expected. This standalone paediatric hospital was to replace the aging Princess Margaret Hospital as the tertiary paediatric facility for the state of WA. It was built alongside an existing adult hospital with a number of research institutes and the University of Western Australia. Despite a state-of-the-art design and despite extensive planning, numerous challenges arose with hospital commissioning, particularly around water quality requiring extensive plumbing remediation. Insights will be provided into the challenges that are required with maintaining aging facilities and commissioning new hospitals in an environment where health, science and politics are all at play.