2.1.1  Background

Redevelopment of the Royal Women's Hospital (RWH) has been under consideration for at least a decade.

The Metropolitan Hospitals Planning Board recommended the redevelopment and co-location of the RWH and the Royal Children's Hospital in 1995. The then government decided the RWH should remain on its current site and a master plan for redevelopment on that site was developed. The master plan was adopted and funded with an initial $38 million. This was subsequently extended to $64 million, of which $25 million was allocated for essential maintenance and infrastructure works at the Carlton site.

In May 2001, Women's and Children's Health (the Royal Women's and Royal Children's Hospitals were then part of the same health service) requested that the government delay the project in order to consider possible redevelopment alternatives. In response, the Royal Women's Hospital Steering Committee was set up by the government to examine redevelopment options against specified criteria encompassing functionality, design, service access and implementation.

The steering committee recommended its preferred option to the Minister for Health in April 2002, which was to co-locate a redeveloped RWH on the Royal Melbourne Hospital site. In May 2002 approval was given to proceed with a feasibility study of the preferred options, culminating in November 2002 with the government making an election commitment to fund the RWH redevelopment on the Royal Melbourne Hospital site.

An investment evaluation-which reaffirmed the preferred site and assessed the potential procurement options-was completed and considered by government in March 2003. Although no funding was specifically allocated at that time, the Minister for Health was invited to submit a business case in line with the Partnerships Victoria policy, at a later date.

The business case was submitted to, and endorsed by, the government in September 2003.

In October 2003 the government announced the construction of a new RWH, to be located on a site next to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Parkville. The building was to accommodate the RWH, Frances Perry House (a co-located private hospital), consulting suites and teaching and research facilities for medical clinicians.

The new hospital is intended to be one of the southern hemisphere's leading women's hospitals, delivering accessible, effective and high quality services to Victorian women and their newborn babies.

The new hospital aims to maintain the standing of the RWH as one of Victoria's major teaching hospitals and also to become a specialist hospital providing services in areas such as gynaecology, obstetrics, neonatal intensive and special care, oncology, maternity, menopause and sexual health.

A sculpture from the existing hospital in Carlton transferred to
 a courtyard in the new Parkville facility.