Member for Albany, Scott Leary MLA, says the State Government’s continued failure to provide a clear answer on the future of the Albany Health Campus hydrotherapy pool demonstrates a troubling pattern of delay that is leaving patients without vital rehabilitation services.
A feasibility study conducted by GIG Consulting was completed and provided to WA Country Health Service (WACHS) in September 2025, yet months later the community is still waiting to learn whether the facility will be reinstated or when a decision will be made.
Mr Leary said the lack of progress is particularly frustrating given the community has been advocating for the hydrotherapy pool to reopen for years. Many residents believed that the appointment of GIG Consulting to undertake a formal feasibility study signalled that a decision would finally be made one way or the other, providing much-needed certainty.
“Instead, people feel like they have been led down a path that has produced another report but no outcome,” Mr Leary said.
Mr Leary first wrote to the Minister for Health Infrastructure in November 2025 seeking clarity on the status of the pool. A response was not received until January 2026, confirming the study had been completed but offering no decision and no timeframe, stating only that the report was “under review.”
In December 2025, Mr Leary escalated the matter by lodging a formal Question on Notice in State Parliament to the Minister for Health. When the reply arrived in February 2026, it again failed to provide any substantive information, repeating that the report and recommendations were still being reviewed and that stakeholders would be informed once a decision had been finalised.
Mr Leary said the sequence of events shows a clear pattern of stalling while the community continues to wait for answers.
“Albany residents have now been waiting months since the report was delivered to WACHS, yet there is still no clear decision,” Mr Leary said.
“This is not a new issue and it is not a complex request — people simply want to know whether this essential service will be restored.”
Mr Leary said the lack of access to hydrotherapy is having real consequences for patients across the Great Southern, particularly older residents, people recovering from surgery or injury and those living with chronic conditions.
“Hydrotherapy is not optional, for many patients it is the only safe and effective form of rehabilitation available,” he said.
“Albany effectively has just one alternative hydrotherapy pool run by a private operator and it is already operating at capacity. The heated pool at Albany Leisure and Aquatic centre cannot provide the specialised conditions required for clinical therapy.”
Mr Leary said the ongoing uncertainty is unacceptable for a regional community that already faces significant barriers in accessing specialist health services.
“Regional patients deserve the same standard of care as those in Perth, not endless delays and non-answers,” he said.
He said the situation reflects a broader concern about the Government’s priorities.
“We have seen this Government fast-track projects it considers a priority, yet when it comes to essential infrastructure that supports regional health and wellbeing, communities are left waiting,” Mr Leary said.
“If this were a major metropolitan project, like a racetrack, there would already be an announcement, funding and a construction timeline.”
Mr Leary has called on the Minister for Health to immediately release the findings of the feasibility study and provide a clear decision on the future of hydrotherapy services at Albany Health Campus.
“The community is not asking for special treatment, only honesty and action,” he said.
“People who are living with pain, disability or recovering from surgery should not be left waiting indefinitely while government agencies review a report that has already been completed.”