$120.4m SW hospital opened, not open
The doors to the new Busselton Health Campus opened on Wednesday, but doubts remain about when patients will be admitted.
Premier Colin Barnett and Health Minister Kim Hames attended the official opening of the $120.4 million hospital, which has been a decade in the making.
During an interview with the _Times _, there was confusion between the Premier and Dr Hames over exactly when patient services would be fully operational.
Dr Hames said the hospital would be in full use by April 20.
"It looks like everything is ready to go, but it's just little things that have to be finalised before patients can get in," he said.
"I'm told on the 20th - the 20th is the full ED (emergency department) opening."
However, Mr Barnett wouldn't provide a clear date for when the hospital would be up and running.
"I don't think that (the final date) is an issue," he said.
"This is a big hospital - it's not just a matter of wheeling people in.
"We've got sick people, people with injuries to take care of and we cannot stop while people move in."
Independent candidate for the Vasse electorate in the 2013 State Election, Gary Norden, said meanwhile patients and staff were enduring poor conditions at the old hospital.
"There are a lot of leaks in the old roof and I know of a case where a nurse slipped over and did damage to her shoulder," he said.
"In a separate incident, an elderly patient was found soaking wet from the leaks in the roof and was in severe shock.
"Patients and staff are put at risk by a hospital that is literally falling apart and the Government keeps delaying the new hospital."
WA Country Health Service South West director Grace Ley told the _Times _there was a past issue with a leaking roof at the old hospital but this was historic.
"The incident about the leaking roof occurred two years ago during severe weather when the roof leaked above a patient's bed," she said.
"This was repaired at the time.
"The current Busselton Hospital continues to deliver high quality health care and there are no concerns with the safety of the current facility for either patients or staff."
Busselton resident Lia Lee said her daughter and her father had both been in Busselton hospital in the past month and were shocked by the conditions.
"There was tape being used to hold equipment together and to fix things to the wall," she said.
Ms Lee said the old hospital was "severely run-down" and not properly maintained.
She said it was "a risk to patients and staff".
