Eight-bed outback hospital costs $67m, three times original budget
WA's Health Minister Meredith Hammat has defended the cost of a new eight-bed outback hospital, which has reached practical completion at a cost of more than $8 million per bed.
Construction of the new eight-bed Laverton Hospital in Western Australia's Goldfields region has reached practical completion, costing a staggering $67.6 million, more than three times its initial budget from 2015. The hospital, located 950 kilometers northeast of Perth, is set to open its doors to patients this week. WA Health Minister Meredith Hammat defended the cost, attributing it to the challenges of delivering major infrastructure in remote locations.
The new hospital features a 24-hour emergency department equipped with telehealth capabilities, flexible care beds, and specialist facilities for visiting clinicians, outpatient services for community health and mental health, and space for an onsite private GP clinic. The project began in 2023 to replace an aging 1973 facility, which has been desperately needed by the community for over a decade.
WA Premier Roger Cook and Hammat flew into Laverton to announce the hospital's practical completion, praising the state's commitment to providing essential health services and infrastructure in remote areas. The Outback Way, a 2,719km highway through central Australia, is expected to increase traffic in the region, making the new hospital even more crucial due to the growing number of people working in the area as fly-in, fly-out workers.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
