Serco Australia to run support services at Fiona Stanley Hospital

The State Government today announced Serco Australia would run facilities management and support services at Fiona Stanley Hospital when it opens in mid-2014.

Health Minister Kim Hames said having an international specialist in running hospital support services as facilities manager meant patients would benefit from the best possible experience at the hospital.

"Thanks to the way Fiona Stanley Hospital will be run, patients will be offered both outstanding care and greater choices - the dates and times of their appointments, their freshly cooked meals, entertainment and internet at their bedside - will be among many services more varied than ever before," Dr Hames said.

"When it opens in 2014, it will be our State's flagship hospital, providing personal and caring health services for all West Australians in a modern, technologically advanced facility.

"WA Health will continue to employ the outstanding doctors, nurses and allied health professionals to provide high quality health care and patients will further benefit from an exceptional hospital environment thanks to the way the new public hospital will be run. 

"The facilities manager will run the hospital using the most modern practices and up-to-date technology, carrying out the behind the scenes work in the most effective way possible for the benefit of patients and staff."

The Facilities Management Services Contract for the new public hospital in Murdoch has been awarded to Serco Australia. This contract, together with related sub-contracts, is worth up to $4.3billion over 20 years. The services covered by the contract include catering, cleaning, linen, security, energy and utilities, estate and grounds maintenance, sterilisation, health records management, internal logistics, supplies management and reception services.

The Minister said the contract had two five-year extension options.  It included strict performance indicators linked to payments which meant that Serco would only be paid on performance, showing continuous improvement over the life of the contract.

"The innovation and technological solutions that the new facilities manager will bring to Fiona Stanley Hospital will not only mean the best possible services for patients and a great working environment for staff, but this contract will also save the taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars," he said.

"The evaluation has been extremely rigorous and we are confident that our new public hospital will benefit from Serco's wealth of experience running high quality support services at public hospitals in the United Kingdom.

"During the evaluation, the Government team investigated the quality of existing services by visiting existing hospital sites overseas and in Australia and where Serco or its subcontractors provide services.

"At every hospital, the facilities management staff, clinical staff and patients confirmed that the Serco services were innovative and of the highest quality."

Many of the services provided by the new facilities manager will involve technologically savvy innovations that will be a first in WA's public hospitals.  These include:

• automatic guided vehicles in non-public areas to move heavy and regularly distributed goods such as patient meals, linen and medical supplies throughout the hospital
• a centralised scheduling service that gives patients a choice of appointment dates and creates back-to-back appointments to reduce patient visits
• patient entertainment systems with TV, internet, games, movies and meal ordering functionality that also enable clinicians to access patient records at the bedside.

Dr Hames said automated guided vehicles were a perfect example of the type of high-tech solution the Government was looking for when it went to tender.

"The experience and innovation that Serco will bring to Fiona Stanley Hospital is very exciting.  The services they provide will support WA Health in providing high quality patient care and an excellent working environment for staff in one of the most advanced public hospitals in Australia," he said.

When it opens in 2014, the 783-bed Fiona Stanley Hospital, which includes 140 beds in the new State Rehabilitation Service, will be the southern metropolitan area's major tertiary hospital.

Further information about the contract for facilities management and support services can be found on the Fiona Stanley Hospital website at http://www.fionastanley.health.wa.gov.au/workforce/

Minister's office - 9222 8788