WA Bets $700K on AI to Fix Hospital Bottlenecks

Western Australia has committed $700,000 to deploy artificial intelligence at Royal Perth Hospital, targeting bed availability, discharge coordination, and medical imaging scheduling ahead of the state's 2026 winter demand surge. The Office of Digital Government is partnering with WA Health to deliver the solution, which uses predictive algorithms to forecast patient length of stay and automate workflow tasks across the facility

Scheduling medical imaging, laboratory tests, pharmacy packs, and discharge summaries all fall within scope. Those tasks currently depend on manual coordination across multiple teams; delays at any point compound throughout the patient journey. Automating sequencing and surfacing real-time demand signals is designed to shorten those gaps and free clinical staff from logistics

Alongside the pilot, WA Health is building a system-wide data platform that feeds live dashboards to the State Health Operations Centre. That infrastructure gives hospital leadership and SHOC a continuous view of capacity and patient movement across the entire public system. Health Minister Meredith Hammat framed the investment plainly: improving patient flow reduces delays, eases pressure on frontline staff, and delivers better outcomes for Western Australians

Royal Perth is the launch site, but the government has confirmed a successful pilot will carry the potential to scale across multiple hospitals. That pathway carries particular weight in a state where geography amplifies every efficiency gap. Clinicians, patients, and resources are distributed across the world's largest health jurisdiction by area. A proven AI model at a major metropolitan hospital represents a replicable template, not a one-site experiment