RP Infrastructure

Population growth in the Werribee Mercy Health catchment was forecast to require over 40,000 additional jobs in the area by 2050. This places a significant demand on the provision of hospital services in the area. The Victorian Government, working with Mercy Health, included this project in its Plan Melbourne strategy and committed $85 million to fund the Stage 1C expansion of the existing Werribee Hospital.

Project Overview

The project includes a four-storey extension to the two-storey Catherine McAuley building. The extension comprises six new operating theatres, a Central Sterile Supply Department, 64 in-patient unit beds, including 8 critical care beds, associated staff workspaces, plant and equipment and a possible multi-deck car park.

Our Role

RP Infrastructure (RPI) provided project management services to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Victoria across all phases of the project including project establishment, stakeholder consultation, master plan review, feasibility study, schematic design, design development, contract documentation, tendering, construction superintendence and all post-construction activities including commissioning and the defects liability period.

Key Challenge

The key challenge in any operational hospital project is the management of business continuity and minimisation of disruption whilst achieving the required program and cost deliverables. RPI in conjunction with DHHS and Mercy Health adopted an ECI contract for this project that allowed for early buildability input from the contractor. This was invaluable in assessing key risks ahead of time and allowing the team to employ mitigation strategies and communication protocols to ensure the project ran smoothly.