FSH ICU reaches new milestone with 40-bed expansion

Fiona Stanley Hospital's Intensive Care Unit (FSH ICU) has come a long way since opening its doors in 2014.

What began as a small service supporting the transfer of patients to the newly opened hospital has steadily grown into one of Western Australia's largest and most advanced critical care services.

The FSH ICU has reached another significant milestone: expanding to 40 fully staffed critical care beds, comprising of 30 ICU beds and 10 High Dependency Unit (HDU) beds.

ICU Acting Nurse Unit Manager Karen Jenner explained when the hospital first opened its doors in October 2014, the FSH ICU operated with a small number of beds.

"Four months later, the unit officially commenced full operation with three pods, comprising of 20 ICU beds and 8 HDU beds," Karen said.

Over the next decade and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for intensive care continued to grow alongside the hospital's expanding role as a tertiary referral centre for complex and critically ill patients across the state.

ICU Consultant Intensivist Thomas Doyle said expanding to 40 beds will deliver significant benefits for patients, families and staff.

"Additional ICU and HDU capacity means critically ill patients can access specialist care sooner, when they need it most," Tom said.

"It also reduces pressure on patient flow across the hospital by ensuring patients requiring intensive care can be transferred promptly from emergency, operating theatres and inpatient wards."

The increased capacity supports smoother movement of patients through the hospital, reducing delays in treatment and helping ensure beds are available for elective and emergency surgical patients requiring postoperative critical care.

For patients and families, it means greater access to specialised care, delivered by highly skilled multidisciplinary critical care teams.

The expansion further strengthens the hospital's ability to provide tertiary-level critical care services and respond to periods of increased demand, major incidents and future healthcare challenges.

"This achievement reflects the dedication, resilience, and hard work of every member in the FSH ICU multidisciplinary team," Karen said.

"Expanding our ICU capacity is more than just increasing bed numbers; it represents our commitment to providing timely, high-quality critical care to more patients and families when they need us most.

"Reaching 40 ICU beds is a testament to the expertise, professionalism, and teamwork demonstrated across nursing, medical, allied health, support services, administration, and operational teams."

Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospitals Group Executive Director, Luke Dix, said the expansion was a significant milestone for Fiona Stanley Hospital and the wider health service.

"As one of Western Australia's leading tertiary hospitals, Fiona Stanley Hospital plays a critical role in caring for some of our most complex and critically ill patients," Luke said.

"Expanding to 40 critical care beds strengthens the hospital's capacity to meet growing demand, support patient flow across the SMHS network and ensure we can continue delivering world-class care for our community, now and into the future."

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