Doctors and opposition demand relocation of new Women and Babies Hospital to Nedlands

Western Australia’s health ministry announced a plan to improve paediatric services at Fiona Stanley Hospital, adding specialist staff, a second Newborn Emergency Transport Service base, and allocating $95 million for 19 additional neonatal intensive care beds at Perth Children’s Hospital. The new Women and Babies Hospital will be constructed next to Fiona Stanley Hospital in Murdoch, about 20 km from the children’s hospital where some infants will need specialist care.

Critics, including Australian Medical Association WA president Kyle Hoath and opposition health spokesperson Libby Mettam, say the distance is unacceptable and call for the facility to be built on the QEII campus in Nedlands to keep high-risk births and neonatal surgery close together. The government argues that relocating to QEII would cause major disruption and delays, and points to a November 2025 consultation report that found no consensus on the number of babies needing time-critical transfers. Additional adult beds will be added for a small number of cases where mothers require treatment at the children’s hospital.