Best Hospitals in Perth (2026): Public, Private and How to Choose
Perth’s public hospitals run through East Metropolitan and South Metropolitan Health Service, with a private sector led by Ramsay Health Care and St John of God Health Care. Perth is also home to Australia’s most unusual public/private hospital arrangements, where hospital ownership and hospital operation aren’t always the same thing. This guide covers Perth’s major public and private hospitals, how they rank nationally, and what’s actually free for newcomers.
The short version
- Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) is Perth’s top-ranked hospital nationally in Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals 2026 – #10 in Australia – and WA’s oldest major public hospital.
- Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Nedlands is WA’s only comprehensive cancer centre and a major transplant hub.
- Fiona Stanley Hospital in Murdoch is WA’s largest hospital by bed count, at 783 beds.
- Joondalup Health Campus is a public hospital operated by Ramsay Health Care under a WA Health contract – and it shares its site with a separate, fully private wing.
- Hollywood Private Hospital self-describes as Australia’s largest private hospital, with 900+ beds.
- Sources: East Metropolitan Health Service, South Metropolitan Health Service, WA Health, Newsweek World’s Best Hospitals 2026.
Perth's major public hospitals
| Hospital | Health service | Suburb | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Perth Hospital | East Metropolitan Health Service | Perth CBD | 450 beds; WA’s major trauma and burns centre; one of Australia’s oldest continuously operating hospitals |
| Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital | North Metropolitan Health Service | Nedlands | WA’s only comprehensive cancer centre; bone marrow, kidney and pancreas transplant services |
| Fiona Stanley Hospital | South Metropolitan Health Service | Murdoch | 783 beds – WA’s largest hospital; major trauma, cancer and rehabilitation services |
| Perth Children’s Hospital | Child and Adolescent Health Service | Nedlands | 298 beds; WA’s only dedicated paediatric hospital, treating patients 15 and under |
| King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women | North Metropolitan Health Service | Subiaco | 254 beds; WA’s main maternity and gynaecology hospital – no general emergency department |
King Edward Memorial Hospital treats maternity and women’s health only – general medical emergencies, including for pregnant women outside these specialties, are directed to Royal Perth, Sir Charles Gairdner or Fiona Stanley depending on location. Perth Children’s Hospital is strictly for patients 15 and under; older teenagers needing emergency care go to an adult hospital.
When "public" and "private" overlap: Perth's hybrid hospitals
Perth has two arrangements that regularly confuse newcomers, because who owns a hospital and who runs it aren’t always the same organisation.
Joondalup Health Campus: a public hospital run by a private company
Joondalup Health Campus is a public hospital – WA Health funds it and Medicare-eligible patients are treated free as public patients – but it’s operated day-to-day by Ramsay Health Care under a long-term WA Health contract running to 2043. Confusingly, the same site also hosts a separate, fully private wing with its own private beds. Ask reception which side of the campus you’re being treated in if it matters for your cover.
St John of God Midland: a public hospital with a private operator
St John of God Midland Public Hospital is government-funded and free for public patients, but it’s owned and operated by St John of God Health Care, a Catholic not-for-profit group better known for its private hospitals elsewhere in Perth. It ranked #31 nationally in Newsweek’s 2026 list – don’t assume the St John of God name means you’ll be billed as a private patient here.
Perth's private hospitals
| Hospital | Group | Suburb | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood Private Hospital | Ramsay Health Care | Nedlands | 900+ beds; self-described as Australia’s largest private hospital; cancer, cardiac and veterans’ care |
| St John of God Subiaco Hospital | St John of God Health Care | Subiaco | Around 578 beds; maternity, cancer care and cardiac services |
| St John of God Murdoch Hospital | St John of God Health Care | Murdoch | Around 511–525 beds; co-located with the public Fiona Stanley Hospital precinct |
| Bethesda Hospital | Independent, not-for-profit | Claremont | 88 beds; maternity, day surgery and rehabilitation, run by an independent charitable trust |
| Joondalup Health Campus (private wing) | Ramsay Health Care | Joondalup | Private beds sharing a site with the adjoining public hospital |
How Perth's hospitals rank nationally
Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals 2026 list places Royal Perth Hospital at #10 nationally – WA’s highest-ranked hospital.
| National rank | Hospital |
|---|---|
| #10 | Royal Perth Hospital |
| #12 | Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital |
| #31 | St John of God Midland Public Hospital |
| #42 | Fiona Stanley Hospital |
Perth Children’s Hospital and King Edward Memorial didn’t appear in the top 50 – specialised paediatric and maternity hospitals are generally assessed separately from general hospital rankings. Treat this as a peer-recommendation and patient-experience ranking rather than a clinical-outcomes league table, and use the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s MyHospitals tool (myhospitals.gov.au) if you want to compare current wait times directly – it’s a comparison tool, not a ranking.
Public vs private: what actually differs
As a public patient, Medicare covers your care in full, but you don’t choose your treating doctor and are seen in order of clinical urgency. As a private patient, you generally choose your specialist and may get a private room, but need private health insurance covering the treatment plus often an out-of-pocket gap. Perth’s hybrid sites make this more confusing than most cities – at Joondalup Health Campus specifically, check which side of the site you’re booked into before assuming your cover applies.
What's free, and what to check as a migrant
| Service | Who it’s free for |
|---|---|
| Public hospital emergency department | Free for Medicare-eligible patients at any public hospital, including the public side of Joondalup Health Campus |
| Reciprocal Health Care Agreement access | Visitors from 11 countries including the UK, Ireland and New Zealand can access some Medicare-covered public hospital care without a Medicare card |
| Interpreter services | Free at any hospital via the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National), 131 450 |
| Care at St John of God Midland | Free for public patients despite the private-sounding operator name – it’s a public hospital |
Finding your nearest hospital by area
- Perth CBD: Royal Perth Hospital, WA’s major trauma and burns centre.
- Nedlands/western suburbs: Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth Children’s Hospital and Hollywood Private Hospital, all close together.
- Subiaco: King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women and St John of God Subiaco Hospital.
- Southern suburbs: Fiona Stanley Hospital and St John of God Murdoch Hospital, co-located in Murdoch.
- Northern suburbs: Joondalup Health Campus, serving Perth’s fast-growing north.
- Eastern suburbs: St John of God Midland Public Hospital.
For the rest of our Perth settling-in guides, see our homepage, or our guide to seeing a doctor in Australia for GP visits and Medicare basics. See our full guide to Best Hospitals in Australia for how the national system fits together.
Frequently asked questions
Royal Perth Hospital is Perth’s and Western Australia’s top-ranked hospital in Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals 2026 list, at #10 nationally. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Nedlands (#12) is the next-highest-ranked Perth public hospital.
Royal Perth Hospital in the CBD is WA’s major trauma and burns centre and currently ranked highest nationally. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Nedlands, WA’s only comprehensive cancer centre, is the other major tertiary option.
Both, on the same site. Joondalup Health Campus is a public hospital funded by WA Health and free for public patients, but it’s operated by Ramsay Health Care, a private company, under a contract running to 2043. A separate private wing with its own beds sits on the same campus – ask which side you’re booked into if it matters for your cover.
Yes, for Medicare-eligible patients – Australian citizens and permanent residents – at any public hospital emergency department, with no referral or upfront payment required. This includes the public side of Joondalup Health Campus. Visitors from 11 Reciprocal Health Care Agreement countries, including the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, can access some public hospital care too.
Royal Perth Hospital sits right in the Perth CBD. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Perth Children’s Hospital, both in Nedlands, are also close by in the western suburbs.
Fiona Stanley Hospital in Murdoch has 783 beds, making it WA’s largest hospital by bed count. Royal Perth Hospital, at 450 beds, is smaller but currently ranked higher nationally.
Hollywood Private Hospital in Nedlands, run by Ramsay Health Care, has more than 900 beds and self-describes as Australia’s largest private hospital, not just Perth’s.
Perth Children’s Hospital in Nedlands is WA’s only dedicated paediatric hospital, treating patients 15 and under. Older teenagers needing emergency care are seen at an adult hospital instead.
In a public hospital, Medicare covers your care as a public patient, but you don’t choose your treating doctor and are seen in order of clinical urgency. In a private hospital, you generally choose your specialist and may get a private room, but need private health insurance covering the treatment plus often an out-of-pocket gap payment. Perth’s hybrid sites, like Joondalup Health Campus, make this more confusing than most cities, so it pays to check which side of a campus you’re being treated in.
It’s a public hospital – government-funded and free for public patients – even though it’s owned and operated by St John of God Health Care, a Catholic not-for-profit group better known for its private hospitals elsewhere in Perth. It ranked #31 nationally in Newsweek’s 2026 list.
Yes, at any public hospital, through the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450. WA Health also provides translated health information in multiple community languages.
Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals, compiled annually with Statista, is the most current independent ranking naming individual Australian hospitals – it placed Royal Perth Hospital at #10 nationally in 2026. It measures peer recommendations, quality metrics and patient experience rather than clinical outcomes, and isn’t comparable across countries. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s MyHospitals tool (myhospitals.gov.au) is useful for checking current wait times, but it’s a comparison tool rather than a ranking.
You May Also Like
City & State Guides
Best Hospitals in Australia (2026): The Complete City-by-City Guide
Australia’s hospital system is split between public hospitals, funded by Medicare and run by state and territory governments,…
City & State Guides
Best Hospitals in Darwin (2026): Public, Private and How to Choose
Darwin’s public hospital system centres on Royal Darwin Hospital, one of Australia’s most important trauma facilities despite the…
City & State Guides
Best Hospitals in Hobart (2026): Public, Private and How to Choose
Hobart’s public hospital system centres on a single major facility, Royal Hobart Hospital, run by the Tasmanian Health…
