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Last year’s decision by the ACT Government to compulsorily acquire Calvary Bruce Public Hospital was a major episode for Calvary, but the organisation has used the experience to reimagine its future and build on its legacy.
Martin Bowles AO PSM, National CEO of Calvary Health Care, told the Catholic Health Australia’s annual conference in Sydney this week that the public hospital represented Calvary’s start in the ACT, and the organisation had capitalised on opportunities over the 44 years to grow the service offering to the community.
“Through our legacy of being in Canberra, we’ve now taken the expertise and capability that was being absorbed by our operating the public hospital and we are channelling that into our other services in the region.
“We have developed a broad service footprint in the ACT, but to make that work in the new climate we have to make significant changes and harness our ability to partner with our patients, residents and clients wherever the care journey takes them,” he said.
He also acknowledged the ACT’s move introduced a new element of ‘sovereign risk’ for all private sector players trying to serve Australia’s growing health needs.
“This is not just an issue for Catholic providers, it’s a sovereign risk issue more broadly for any organisation working with governments.”
“Would other governments do what the ACT Government did, probably not, but it doesn’t mean it’s not a challenge working in those environments.”
Modern health facilities are multi-million dollar investments, and although most health care operators are non-profits, they still have an obligation to steward their resources responsibly.
“Calvary like everyone is facing complicated challenges in the industry: tighter margins, workforce issues, and the increasing cost of capital, the increasing cost of everything actually.”
“But our mission never changes and our future model of care that we call Calvary’s Connected Care System must support the strong demand for hospital and aged care services and align with the type of care we can offer by working with our partners in the sector, public and private, innovating and adopting technology and, most importantly, connecting the care for our patients, residents and clients,” he said.
