The Royal Women's Hospital Project - Frequently Asked Questions

The State Government is investing in the health of all Victorian women and newborn babies by building a new Royal Women's Hospital in Parkville.

The new Royal Women's Hospital will vastly improve health services for Victorian women.

Q. When will the hospital open to patients?

From 9.00am on Sunday 22nd June, the new Royal Women’s Hospital and Frances Perry House will be operational and ready to accept admissions.

Patients attending the hospital prior to 9.00am on Sunday 22nd June should continue to visit the existing site in Carlton.

Q. How do I get to the new Women's?

The new Women's is on the corner of Flemington Road and Grattan Street.

You can get there by bus, tram, car and bicycle.

Tram

Tram 19 (North Coburg) from Elizabeth Street (stops at the corner of Royal Pde and Grattan Street)

Tram 55 (West Coburg) from Flagstaff Station (stops at the corner of Grattan Street and Flemington Road)

Tram 59 (Airport West) from Elizabeth Street (stops at the corner of Grattan Street and Flemington Road)

Bus

The 402 bus from opposite St Vincent's Hospital in Victoria Parade stops on Grattan Street (outside The Royal Melbourne).

There will also be five levels of underground carpark and 50 secure bicycle racks at the new facility.

Q. What will happen to the existing hospital when the new hospital opens?

The Victorian Government Property Group is working closely with the Royal Women’s Hospital and the Department of Human Services to assess all existing RWH property assets. This assessment will determine the future use of any assets that may be surplus to Victorian Government requirements.

At this stage none of the existing RWH property assets have been earmarked for a specific use. No decision has been made to dispose of RWH assets at this point in time.

Q. Will there be retail outlets at the new Women's?

Zouki Nominees Pty Ltd has been awarded the tender to deliver integrated retail services across the ground floor of the new Royal Women's Hospital and The Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Zouki has over 20 years of experience in hospitality and retail. In recent years, it has developed retail ventures within hospitals including Western Health, Southern Health,St Vincent's Hospital, Calvary Hospital (Canberra) and was recently awarded the tender to deliver retail services at Westmead Hospital (Sydney).

Specific details for the retail precinct are yet to be finalised however Zouki will provide a broad range of services to suit the needs of staff, patients and visitors.

Further details will be announced in the coming months. The retail precinct will open in June 2008 to coincide with the opening of the new Royal Women's Hospital.

To find out more information about Zouki, please click here.

Q. How will research be located in the new Women's?

A RWH Research Precinct is planned for the top floor housing the Melbourne University Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Pregnancy Research Centre, Newborn Research Centre & the Gynaecological Cancer Research Centres.

This encourages research collaboration and further development of the research precinct.

Q. What will happen to the Women's Health Information Centre (WHIC)?

WHIC will be located at the front entrance of the new hospital. Here women will be able to access a range of health information services and make appointments.

Q. Will there be a sacred space in the new hospital?

A shared multifaith Sacred Space and garden is planned in conjunction with The Royal Melbourne Hospital. A location has been chosen and the design is underway.

Q. What will happen to Frances Perry House?

Along with the rest of the hospital's services, Frances Perry House (a private maternity hospital) will relocate with the new Royal Women's Hospital in 2008.

For more information on Frances Perry House, please click here.

Q. Why is the new Royal Women's Hospital being built adjacent to The Royal Melbourne Hospital?

Having the new Women's next door to The Royal Melbourne Hospital will mean not only do Victorian women have services specifically designed for them, but also better access to The Royal Melbourne Hospital's critical care facilities.

Patients will also benefit from the two leading hospitals being able to offer complementary services such as MRI scans and a helipad.

The Women's and The Royal Melbourne Hospital will continue to forge fruitful links with educators and researchers at Melbourne University and leading research groups to become a world-renowned research precinct.

Q. Will the new Women's remain independent even though it is next to The Royal Melbourne Hospital?

The new stand-alone Women's will be built on Crown land and will have a separate Board and Governance structure to The Royal Melbourne Hospital.

The patients of both hospitals will benefit from this new location, as they will have a new state-of-the-art facility dedicated to specialist female issues, as well as access to the Melbourne's facilities and staff.

Q. Will there be disruption for patients at The Royal Melbourne Hospital during the building of the new Royal Women's Hospital?

Disruption to patients and staff at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and the surrounding community is being kept to a minimum. However, a project of this magnitude inevitably involves some construction noise.

Royal Women's Health Partnership has specific work plans in place to minimise noise, disruption and dust, and is committed to the safety of the local community and its contractors.

Advance notice of schedule of works has been provided to patients and staff at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and to the surrounding community.

A dedicated community liaison officer is available to address any public concerns.

Q. Who is funding the new Royal Women's Hospital project?

The Royal Women's Hospital Project is a $250 million project. The State Government is investing $190 million towards the new Royal Women's Hospital, with a further $60 million being provided by the existing hospital's asset sales.

Q. How is the private sector involved?

A private sector consortium, the Royal Women's Health Partnership (RWHP), will work with the public sector in a number of areas. In particular, RWHP:

•	Has designed, constructed and financed the new Royal Women's Hospital

•	Will provide supporting infrastructure services for the facilities, including services such as car parking, security and cleaning.

RWHP is a consortium made up of Bilfinger Berger Project Investments, Baulderstone Hornibrook and United Group. RWHP is 100% owned by Bilfinger Berger Project Investments. Other members of the consortium are Baulderstone Hornibrook as the Builder, United Group as the Facility Manager and DWI Architects (DesignInc Melbourne and Woodhead International, architects in association). To read more about RWHP, click here.

The new Royal Women's Hospital development is being delivered as a Public Private Partnership, in accordance with the State Government's Partnerships Victoria policy guidelines. The Partnerships Victoria policy is designed to capture the best of what Government does, and combine this with the expertise the private sector has in designing, financing, building and maintaining large infrastructure projects.

A feature of the Partnerships Victoria approach to infrastructure delivery is that it focuses on the service outputs required by Government from the facility (eg a Hospital) and takes a whole-of-life perspective of the costs and risks involved.

The Government's strategic investment in a new Royal Women's Hospital is part of the Victorian Government's commitment to health and in particular Women's health.

Q. Why is the Partnerships Victoria policy good for Victoria?

The policy is part of the Victorian Government's strategy to provide better services to all Victorians by expanding and improving Victoria's public infrastructure. The Partnerships Victoria policy is designed to tap into the expertise the private sector has in designing, financing and building and maintaining large infrastructure projects.

Partnerships will only be entered into if it is proven the arrangement delivers the best value for money and is in the public interest.

Q. Why do some people claim Partnerships Victoria projects are just privatisation by stealth?

Privatisation involves the selling of an existing asset, that is the transfer of ownership and control of the assets, to a non-government organisation.

Privatisation does not allow the government any right to compulsorily regain control even if it is in the public interest to do so.

Responsibility for delivering core services is retained by the government under the Partnerships Victoria Policy. This means that even though a hospital, train station or prison may be financed, built and maintained by the private sector, core services are delivered entirely by Government.

Further, in most cases under Partnerships Victoria arrangements, the facility is transferred to Government at no cost at the end of the concession period.

Q. What happens if a private sector partner drops out of the partnership and threatens services to Victorians?

Should any provider default and threaten the ongoing operation of a project, the government will step in and assume responsibility for the delivery of services.

Under Partnerships Victoria, during the construction stage, private sector bidders are required to provide substantial financial guarantees or bonds so that funds are available in case they default on their obligations. During the operations stage, if services are not provided to the levels required under the contract, payments to the private party may be abated.

For more information on the Partnerships Victoria policy, please click here

Link to the Royal Women's Hospital Website

Link to the Department of Human Services Website