A major upgrade for Joondalup Health Campus — what it means for Moore

Yesterday was a significant day for healthcare in Perth’s Northern Suburbs. 

I joined Federal Health Minister Mark Butler, Ramsay Health Care CEO Natalie Davis and Premier Roger Cook at Joondalup Health Campus for the official opening of a major new expansion — and I want to explain what’s actually been built and why it matters for families in Moore.

Two expansions, one campus

It’s worth understanding the full picture here, because there are actually two major investments happening at Joondalup Health Campus simultaneously.

The first is the public expansion — a $307 million joint project between the Australian Government ($158 million) and the Cook State Government ($149.9 million). This has progressively delivered a 102-bed mental health unit (recently named International Design in Mental Health Awards’ Project of the Year 2025), new emergency department beds, a new discharge lounge, upgraded cardiac catheter laboratories that double the campus’s capacity for cardiac procedures to around 3,000 per year, and a new 46-bed public ward block. A further 60 public beds are being fitted out and will come online by mid-2026.

Yesterday’s official opening was the second investment — a $166 million private expansion funded entirely by Ramsay Health Care. This is what was formally opened on the day, and it is genuinely impressive.

What the new private facilities include

The $166 million Ramsay expansion has added:

•  52 new beds in the new Lakeside Wing — 22 surgical and 30 medical — bringing the total private bed count from 150 to 202, with a shelled 30-bed ward ready for future expansion. That’s a 55 per cent increase in capacity.

•  Six new state-of-the-art operating suites, including two shared public/private theatres, plus two day procedure suites and a day of surgery admissions unit.

•  A focus on orthopaedics, gynaecology, interventional pain, ear nose and throat, and general surgery — bringing a broader range of specialties to the northern suburbs.

•  Cutting-edge surgical robotics: JHC is now home to two MAKO 4 robots — making it one of only two hospitals in Australia, and the first in WA, to have this technology. These advanced systems support orthopaedic surgery with extraordinary precision.

•  A da Vinci surgical robot, which means people in Perth’s northern suburbs can now access minimally invasive prostate cancer surgery locally for the first time. The da Vinci also enhances capability in general surgery, gynaecology and thoracic surgery. Importantly, all of these robots will benefit both public and private patients.

Why this matters for Moore

Joondalup Health Campus is the hospital that families in Moore rely on. 

It saw over 97,000 emergency presentations in 2023–24 alone.

More surgical capacity, more beds, and access to world-first robotic technology means shorter waits, more procedures done locally rather than further afield, and for the first time access to minimally invasive cancer surgery right on our doorstep. That’s a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

What I’ll keep pushing for

Yesterday’s opening is a milestone, not a finish line. 

As Moore’s population continues to grow, I’m focused on making sure healthcare investment keeps pace.

One area I’m actively advocating for is a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic within Moore. These bulk-billed, walk-in clinics are open seven days a week and take real pressure off hospital emergency departments. There are clinics operating in Clarkson and opening soon in Yanchep — but neither sits within Moore’s boundaries. Families in Hillarys, Ocean Reef, Kingsley and Woodvale deserve the same access. I’m making that case to the Government.

If you have thoughts on local healthcare — what’s working, what isn’t, where the gaps are — I want to hear from you. 

Your experience helps me make the case in Canberra.

-Tom