Royal Perth Hospital has served Western Australians since 1855 and remains a critical part of the state’s healthcare system.

However, its aging infrastructure and fragmented campus are no longer suitable for modern healthcare delivery.

Many buildings are outdated, some over a century old, causing inefficiencies, limiting capacity, and making integrating advancements in technology and clinical care difficult.

Royal Perth Hospital serves as a vital tertiary centre for East Metropolitan Health Service patients and Western Australians transferred from regional areas or other hospital precincts.

It is also WA’s major trauma hospital.

Royal Perth Hospital cares for more than 1,000 major trauma and 5,000 minor trauma admissions annually at the State Adult Major Trauma Clinic.

This means that 80 per cent of major trauma patients in Western Australia — that is, patients with serious injuries to their head, spine, or chest, blunt trauma, patients with significant blood loss, and complex fractures — are treated at Royal Perth Hospital.

The WA Liberals know that Western Australia needs a major trauma centre that is modern, capable and befitting a state as wealthy as Western Australia.

Demand is expected to rise even further at RPH, with projections showing that Emergency Department presentations will rise by more than a third over the next decade.

Western Australia needs a proper plan to address systemic issues related to underinvestment and patient backlog at Royal Perth Hospital, ensuring that Perth has a world-class trauma hospital for generations to come.

Only a WA Liberal Government will deliver it.

The WA Liberals believe that after nearly two centuries of care, Royal Perth Hospital needs to be modernised to treat Western Australians and support our broader health system.

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

Without more inpatient beds and greater space for medical services, the ED will continue to experience delays, exacerbating ambulance ramping and putting more patients at risk.

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

A WA Liberal Government will commit $80m in our first term to facilitate the planning and first-stage works for a complete rebuild.

Our plan will deliver the redevelopment of Royal Perth Hospital in two key phases.

Our first team will focus on commencing planning and incorporating findings from the Royal Commission into Health to ensure alignment with state healthcare priorities.

A second term will see the redevelopment begin, transforming RPH into a modern and sustainable healthcare hub.

This investment will ensure a well-planned, fiscally responsible approach that sees Western Australians delivered a functional, efficient hospital system.

Western Australians deserve a government that delivers a plan to fix WA’s major trauma hospital and allow Western Australians to access the care they deserve.

Only the WA Liberals are committed to addressing the almost decade of neglect and underinvestment in health by WA Labor.