Page 1642 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 18 May 1994
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MR CONNOLLY: Run by private practice? Absolutely not. Indeed, in discussions I have had with the existing private hospitals, the view was that a private cardiac unit works in Sydney but would not work here. There is certainly interest in the Government perhaps doing it, but it would be a multimillion dollar proposal. But you were saying that the private sector could do it. I am unaware of any proposal from the private sector to do it. I am also aware of some very substantial public policy issues that would have to be addressed. If one of these major for-profit corporations did want to establish a hospital in Canberra, what that will - - -
Mrs Carnell: What about John of God, which wanted to do it last time?
MR CONNOLLY: Mrs Carnell, in my discussion with the John James chair and chief executive on the issue of the obstetric beds and the additional general surgical beds, I discussed with them the issue of a cardio-thoracic unit. Their clear view was that they would not be interested in providing such a facility. They have gone and looked at Sydney. They have looked at Sydney Adventist and St Vincent's Private - massive multimillion dollar facilities which do operate profitably, serving a community of six million people. Their view was that to do that on a private sector model in Canberra was not on.
I am unaware of any other proponents of such a proposal. I am aware of the very substantial public policy issues that would have to be addressed. If one of these major corporate private hospitals, for-profit driven private hospitals, wanted to come to Canberra and made a formal application for approval, I would have to consider very seriously what that would mean for Calvary Private, which for many years has provided a very good service to the community on a not-for-profit basis. The operating profit that comes out of that private health facility gets reinvested. I would have to consider what it would mean for John James, which operates on a similar basis to a not-for-profit model. Extolling the virtues of private for-profit medicine does raise - - -
Mrs Carnell: I did not say that.
MR CONNOLLY: You are saying that we should look at the Port Macquarie model. The Port Macquarie model is a facility run by the Health Care Corporation of Australia. A window of opportunity has been opened for them by the New South Wales Government's decision not to provide a high standard of public hospital at Port Macquarie, not to invest massively in the run-down capital infrastructure there. The only option, therefore, for public medicine there was to do that deal with the Health Care Corporation of Australia. It is an interesting model which people will be looking at for many years to come.
But in Canberra, where we have invested $170m in upgrading the public facilities, I do not see that opportunity. If the Health Care Corporation of Australia or another for-profit hospital corporation wanted to open in Canberra, it would be a very fundamental question as to what that would mean for the continued viability of both Calvary and John James, which have served this community well for many years and have a track record of regular, modest expansion as the operating profits of the previous years go into upgrading their facilities.
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