• WA Liberals commit to rebuild Royal Perth Hospital.

• $80m allocation to fund planning and initial site works.

• World-class hospital and trauma centre to replace aging RPH.

The WA Liberals today announced the centrepiece of their plan to return Western Australia’s hospital services and facilities to a world-class standard.

Liberal Leader and Shadow Health Minister Libby Mettam announced a commitment to begin planning for a complete rebuild of Royal Perth Hospital.

Ms Mettam said the shameful neglect of the state’s hospital facilities under two terms of Labor Government would end instantly under a government she leads.

“This investment is the backbone of the WA Liberals’ commitment to fix our broken health system,” Ms Mettam said.

“Royal Perth has served the people of WA for nearly two centuries, under a Liberal Government it will once again become one of the jewels of our health system.

“Our initial investment of $80 million in our first term of Government will facilitate the planning and first stage site works for a staged complete rebuild of RPH.

“In a second term of Government the Liberals will transform RPH into a modern and sustainable hospital, trauma centre and healthcare hub.”

Ms Mettam said only multi-term planning would deliver Western Australians sustainable health care into the future.

“This investment will ensure a well-planned, fiscally responsible approach rather than the election-cycle-driven piecemeal approach that has been adopted by WA Labor,” she said.

“The age of some of the buildings and the fragmented nature of the campus means that no amount of ad hoc additions, adjustments and expansions will elevate Royal Perth Hospital to a standard that will serve the needs of our growing population.

“Some buildings are older than a century which is creating inefficiencies, limited capacity and making it difficult to integrate modern technology and clinical care.

“With expectations emergency presentations will rise by 36 per cent over the next decade, it is clear we need to completely redevelop Royal Perth Hospital.

“That is why a Mettam Liberal Government is committed to redeveloping the Royal Perth Hospital campus.”

WA Liberal candidate for Morley Ashwarth Chavittupara, welcomed the announcement.

Mr Chavitupara said it was also reassuring to know that planning for the hospital would be informed by the Royal Commission into the WA health system that the WA Liberals had also committed to.

“Only the WA Liberals are committed to addressing the almost decade of neglect and underinvestment in Health by Roger Cook who is responsible for WA having the worst hospital system in the country,” he said.

“WA Labor’s commitment to redeveloping and expanding RPH’s Emergency Department is short sighted and doesn’t address serious systematic issues which need to be addressed.

“Without more inpatient beds, the ED will continue to face delays and patients will still be at risk from those delays.”

Ms Mettam said only the WA Liberals had a plan which would put more beds into RPH.

“This is all about planning for the future and delivering a decade-long plan to fix Labor’s failings in health.

“Our Building a Better Future blueprint makes our commitment to fixing WA’s hospitals clear – and this is one of the most obvious ways we will do that.”