East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS) is in a new age of health care.
Advances in technology, research and medicine, and new approaches to patient care and working with the community, have made the previously impossible possible.
In keeping with global advances and our ongoing commitment to innovation, EMHS has evolved into a service connecting traditional hospital and community services with technology-enabled hospital-at-home and community care not available to previous generations of patients.
Multi-million-dollar election commitments announced this year for major upgrades to Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) and St John of God Midland Public Hospital (SJGMPH) will help ensure these leading facilities remain at the forefront of health care and continue to best serve some of the fastest growing communities in Western Australia.
A total of $105 million in State funding has been pledged for RPH, including $97.3 million to modernise the Emergency Department, and $355 million for SJGMPH in State and Commonwealth funds. Our teams are on stand-by to begin work on these as soon as final approvals are in place.
This year, we took an exciting step forward by expanding our virtual hospital services and bringing them together under the East CareConnect banner. By uniting our in-person and virtual care, we are making it easier for people to access the support they need − wherever they are. It is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to community, innovation, and making health care more inclusive and connected for everyone.
Health care is no longer confined within hospital walls; it seamlessly becomes part of daily life. East CareConnect enables patients to receive personalised, precision care for conditions such as pneumonia, infections, wounds and heart conditions in the comfort of their homes.
The new service combines home visits from health professionals with advanced digital health technologies, including continuous remote biomedical monitoring, digital medical records, and virtual consultations. This enables proactive management of health conditions, allowing our teams to intervene earlier and prevent clinical deterioration, no matter where the patient lives.
In November 2024, we opened the EMHS Innovation Hub. The Hub is designed to bring EMHS clinicians and innovators together with industry experts and the broader innovation community, creating opportunities to develop and grow ideas that improve the health and wellbeing of all Western Australians.
The financial year also saw many other developments in key areas.
Ground works began on the $42.2 million Byford Health Hub which will provide accessible, community-based care when it opens in 2027, reducing reliance on hospital services and offering a new model of care.
Planning progressed for the $167 million Bentley Health Surgicentre which will streamline and alleviate pressure on our emergency departments on opening in 2029.
We established an EMHS Mental Health Directorate to oversee mental health services across our sites, reinforcing the importance we place on mental health.
For a safer workplace, we formed a new Behaviour Support Team to help frontline staff manage challenging patients under the first phase of a strategy known as CaREPlan.
Our Armadale Health Service continued to safely and successfully lower birth rates before 39 weeks and is on track to lower early term and preterm births by 20 per cent.
To minimise our environmental impact, we appointed an EMHS Chief Sustainability Officer.
Our roadmap forward is comprehensive and focused on delivering safe, high quality, ethical and sustainable health care, taking a multi-faceted approach. The goal is a health service that prioritises each patient’s unique needs, is well integrated with the local community and leverages technology to enhance care.
As we enter the new financial year, we would like to thank our staff, wide network of consumer advisors, volunteers and patients for making our health service what it is, and what it will become.
Our people go above and beyond in delivering our vision of healthy people, amazing care, and our valued patients make every day an opportunity to have a positive impact.
Together, we look forward to embracing the opportunities and challenges of an evolving new age, with optimism and determination for a bright future.
