The new 24-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Royal Perth Hospital has been officially opened and is already taking patients.
Opening the ICU on Monday (14 March), Minister for Health, Amber-Jade Sanderson said the $29 million redevelopment had 24 single rooms, including one positive pressure room, four negative pressure rooms and two rooms equipped to accommodate bariatric patients.
“It will be staffed by about 250 staff members, including around 170 nurses and about 50 doctors, allied health and support staff,” Ms Sanderson said.
The Minister said an additional 30 nurses had recently qualified to work in the ICU through an accelerated training program and more nurses would undertake this training within the coming weeks.
“The state-of-the art facility will accommodate the sickest of our patients and will boost Western Australia’s ICU capacity during this heightened phase of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.
“The opening of this facility is timely given the recent rise in WA’s COVID caseload and brings the State’s ICU capacity to 145 beds.”
She said the ICU had been developed so it could be optimised for COVID-19 conditions, including frequent air changes throughout the unit and separate rooms fitted with switch glass windows.
“This is all part of the Government’s COVID-19 response to build capacity in our hospital system,” Ms Sanderson said.
