Murdoch hospital closes 24-hour emergency department

St John of God Murdoch Hospital has ended 24-hour operations at its private emergency department, shifting to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily from Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, according to the hospital. The Perth hospital said the change replaces its previous round-the-clock service. Chief executive Ben Irish said the move was driven by a shortage of emergency physicians and was intended to maintain safe staffing. Outside those hours, the nearest 24-hour emergency department is Fiona Stanley Hospital in Murdoch, across the road from the private hospital. ### When did the change take effect, and what exactly changed? Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, was the first day St John of God Murdoch’s private emergency department stopped operating overnight, the hospital said in a July 1 notice. The department now opens seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., replacing the previous 24-hour model. (sjog.org.au) The Murdoch site is one of Perth’s private hospital facilities offering emergency care, and the reduction means one of the city’s private emergency options no longer runs through the night. The hospital’s emergency department webpage now lists the revised 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. hours. ### Why did the hospital say it could no longer run overnight? Ben Irish, the hospital’s chief executive, said on July 1 that the service change was tied to “the ongoing challenge of emergency physician availability.” He said reducing hours would allow the hospital to “safely staff our emergency department with appropriately qualified emergency doctors during the period of highest patient demand.” (sjog.org.au) (sjog.org.au) Irish said workforce pressures in emergency medicine were affecting hospitals across Australia and that, despite the hospital’s efforts, “the ongoing challenge of suitably qualified and available emergency physicians has made sustaining a 24-hour roster in our emergency department impossible.” He also said there would be no impact on permanent staff numbers in the emergency department as part of the change. (sjog.org.au) ### Where are patients supposed to go after 10 p.m.? Fiona Stanley Hospital is the designated nearby 24-hour option after St John of God Murdoch closes overnight, according to both the private hospital and WA public health information. Fiona Stanley’s emergency department operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and is located on Robin Warren Drive in Murdoch. (sjog.org.au) WA’s Access Health service says emergency departments in the state provide urgent, lifesaving care and advises people with life-threatening emergencies to call Triple Zero. The St John of God notice gives the same instruction and says the hospital has notified St John WA while it works through the transition. (sjog.org.au) ### What are doctors and other observers saying about the knock-on effects? Dr Kyle Hoath, president of the Australian Medical Association’s Western Australia branch, said in July that the reduced hours at Murdoch would increase pressure on Fiona Stanley Hospital’s emergency department. He said the change would lead to longer waits and heavier workloads for emergency clinicians already dealing with high demand. (sjog.org.au) Hoath said some doctors in emergency medicine were moving to other disciplines or reducing contracted hours to avoid burnout and fatigue, and that doctors in training were increasingly rejecting careers in emergency medicine. Those comments were reported by Medical Forum, which quoted him describing the Murdoch decision as part of broader workforce strain in the state’s emergency departments. (mforum.com.au) ### What does current public hospital data show in Murdoch? WA Health’s live emergency department data for Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, showed Fiona Stanley Hospital with 97 total patients in its emergency department, 32 patients waiting to be seen, and an average triage 4 wait of 506 minutes. The WA Health page says the figures are a guide only and that patients are treated according to clinical urgency. (mforum.com.au) South Metropolitan Health Service’s 2024-25 snapshot said its emergency departments handled 219,290 presentations in that year, including a one-day peak of 362 patients at Fiona Stanley Hospital. Those figures predate the Murdoch overnight closure, but they show the scale of activity at the public hospital network serving the area. ### What happens next for residents in Perth’s southern suburbs? (health.wa.gov.au) St John of God Murdoch said it is focusing on making the community aware of the reduced hours and working with staff, doctors and industry colleagues on what Irish called “a smooth transition.” The hospital’s published hours now direct patients to Fiona Stanley Hospital outside 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and to Triple Zero in life-threatening emergencies. (smhs.health.wa.gov.au) Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, WA Health data continued to list Fiona Stanley Hospital among the metropolitan emergency departments reporting live activity, and the Murdoch hospital’s emergency department page continued to show the shortened hours. Those two public-facing pages are the clearest live guides for patients checking where overnight emergency care is available in Murdoch. (health.wa.gov.au) (sjog.org.au)