19/07/2025
We’re excited to be opening the doors to our new Footscray Hospital in February 2026!
With construction nearing completion, we’re undertaking a comprehensive readiness program to ensure we are fully prepared to provide safe, compassionate, and high-quality care from the moment patients arrive.
Thanks to the Victorian Government and the Public Private Partnership led by Plenary Health, this significant investment in the new Footscray Hospital will transform the way care is delivered across the region, giving our growing communities access to modern, purpose-built facilities and services that continue to be close to home. It will also help strengthen our public health system for the future.
We are incredibly excited to begin this next chapter in undertaking final preparations and testing well ahead of the move, and we are deeply grateful to our staff, consumers, volunteers, partners and community for their continued support and trust. Western Health is committed to ensuring a safe, seamless transition into this world-class hospital while continuing to provide the exceptional care our patients and community expect.
Some key activities in getting ready:
🔷 Over 4,500 staff members will complete dedicated training tailored to the new hospital’s advanced features and technologies.
🔷 Around 200 specialised staff will participate in 2635 clinical simulation exercises to test how critical care processes operate in the new hospital setting.
🔷 A dedicated team of 10 pharmacists will carry out more than 1,200 hours of preparation to order, install, and stock medication in the central pharmacy.
🔷Our supply and logistics teams will invest more than 4,000 hours in stocking 180 clinical store rooms with the consumables and medical supplies needed to support timely care delivery.
🔷Over 400 patient care spaces — from consulting rooms to intensive care areas — will be carefully stocked and prepared to create safe, welcoming, and well-equipped environments for every patient, every time.
🔷 Up to 180 patients will be transferred to the new hospital in a thoughtfully planned and safely executed one-day move, supported by thousands of Western Health staff working together to ensure patients receive uninterrupted, high-quality care throughout the transition.
🔷 Nearly 80 hospital services will move into the new facility in alignment with the patient transfer.
🔷 More than 4,000 items of clinical and operational equipment will be relocated in a coordinated, step-by-step approach designed to minimise disruption to patient services and ensure each department is set up to deliver care without delay.
🔷Support and administrative teams will also move, with over 1,200 boxes of equipment and resources to be carefully packed, transported, and set up across their new spaces.
