STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Dr TRISH COOK (Bullwinkel) (16:40): I rise today to recognise a great development for the health and wellbeing in my communities across Bullwinkel in Western Australia. Recently, I was pleased to join the Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon. Mark Butler, and other dignitaries in officially opening the new St John of God Midland Private Hospital.

It has an additional 123 beds, a six-bed critical care unit, eight operating theatres and a cardiac catheter lab. It is co-located near the existing Midland public hospital. It's a state-of-the-art facility, and I was very pleased, as a former registered nurse and midwife who trained at St John of God in Subiaco, to attend this significant event.

As fitting as it was, I wore my vintage nursing cape from the eighties as part of the official opening. There's not only the new 123-bed hospital but also a release of 60 private beds and three operating theatres from the existing hospital in Midland, creating additional capacity. This is the public health system and private health system working together.

Congratulations to St John of God, all the clinicians, the builders and everyone else involved in delivering this project. Together with our $355 million expansion of Midland public hospital and the Midland and Mundaring urgent care clinics— (Time expired)