Fremantle Hospital has opened a new $5.5 million ophthalmology unit this month, bolstering one of the hospital’s busiest departments that sees almost 200 patients a day.
Outpatients began accessing eye services in the newly designed and built public ophthalmology facility on Tuesday 20 September after it was shifted from another part of the hospital.
With more than 180 patients passing through its doors every day, ophthalmology is one of the busiest outpatient services at Fremantle Hospital.
According to the Western Australian Government, the new facility has been designed to suit the unique needs of the service and its patients and paves the way for a major overhaul of mental health services at the site.
The ophthalmology unit was the final service to be relocated from ‘V block’ at Fremantle Hospital, which can now begin redevelopment works for the state government’s new 40-bed mental health ward at the hospital.
The WA Government is investing $45.5 million to fund the 40-bed mental health redevelopment at Fremantle Hospital. This includes $5.5 million for the ophthalmology unit.
“This new state-of-the art ophthalmology unit will deliver modernised facilities for patients of this busy and growing outpatient service,” WA Health Minister Ms Amber-Jade Sanderson said in a statement.
“The relocation of the clinic is also an important milestone in our $45.5 million redevelopment of mental health services at Fremantle Hospital as the last service to be moved so the expansion can begin.”
The 40-bed mental health development will transform Fremantle Hospital into a mental health hub, significantly boosting the current 64-bed inpatient admission capacity and providing better access to expert care for patients with a mental illness in the south metropolitan region.
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