Libby Mettam writes to Webuild promising to rip up contract to build Women and Babies hospital at Murdoch

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam has written to the contractor tasked with building a Women’s and Babies Hospital at Fiona Stanley, telling them her party will tear up any agreement if they win the March 8 State election. Ms Mettam confirmed on Friday that she had written to Webuild the day prior, citing concerns from clinicians that if the hospital was not located next to Perth Children’s Hospital in Nedlands then 200 babies a year risked death or disability. The Government had long committed to building the hospital — which will replace the ageing King Edward Memorial Hospital in Subiaco — at QEII but changed the location to Murdoch, deeming the Nedlands site too constrained. “According to the Government’s own business case, the cost will be about $2 billion but the cost of the Cook Labor Government’s plan is the risk of death or disability of about 200 newborns every year,” the Liberal leader said, referring to the hundreds of babies rushed from KEMH to PCH each year. Ms Mettam could not say where exactly at QEII — where Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital is also located —the maternity hospital would be built. She said that decision would only be made once the Liberals were in power. She also denied building the maternity hospital, budgeted at $1.8 billion, at QEII would require temporarily closing beds or wards at Sir Charles or PCH, despite Infrastructure WA warning there would 20 years of disruption. WA found last year that “impacts such as noise, vibration and dust from demolition and construction” would pose risks to clinical activities at existing QEII hospitals and would push construction of the maternity hospital beyond its current timeframe of 2034. Ms Mettam admitted the build would be “challenging” but insisted the issues were not “insurmountable”. Nedlands candidate Jonathan Huston said the hospital location came up in about 75 per cent of doors he knocked in the seat. Hitting back at suggestions doctors were opposed to the Murdoch site because many live in the western suburbs, Mr Huston said clinicians were required to live close to the area. Premier Roger Cook said the Liberals’ plan would mean a decade delay to build a new maternity hospital, and that it would also delay upgrades to maternity services at Osborne Park.