Melbourne, Australia: Northwest Healthcare Properties REIT (“Northwest”) and its joint-venture partners Dr. Merrett and Dr. Ganju, are pleased to announce that they have reached an agreement with the Victorian State Government to assign the hospital operations of Frankston Private and adjacent Specialist Centre, to assist in addressing the material backlog of elective surgeries in the state.

 

With the transition to the public surgical centre now complete in the hospital component of the building, additional works to convert two procedure rooms into operating theatres will also begin – with the additional theatres set to open in early 2023.

 

This month, the State Government has taken over the Healthscope-leased areas in Frankston Private Hospital and adjacent Specialist Centre to convert the private facilities into an extension of the nearby Public Hospital services, servicing the backlog in the public health system with a particular focus on day surgery. The State Government’s provider in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Peninsula Health, has taken over a long-term lease from Healthscope, being a remaining initial term of 15 years.

 

Northwest is the largest owner, manager and developer (for long term ownership) of healthcare real estate in Australia and New Zealand, and is a global leader in healthcare precincts – facilities that combine complementary services and providers to aggregate market-leading experts and facilitate the best possible healthcare offering to the community. A key component of Northwest’s healthcare precinct strategy is the co-location and co-operation of private and public hospital services, evidenced through the facilitation of this partnership with the Victorian State Government.

 

Northwest is the majority owner of Frankston Private Hospital and adjacent Specialist Centre, with two joint-venture doctor partners Doctors Merrett and Ganju owning the balance. The imaging, radiotherapy and pharmacy services provided by I-MED, GenesisCare and Slade Pharmacy respectively will continue on-site, providing much-needed services to the surrounding community.

 

Northwest Executive Director, Richard Roos, said: “Together with our two joint-venture doctor partners, we are pleased to collaborate with the State Government to expand and enhance the healthcare offering to Victorians and support their $1.5 billion effort to address the elective surgery backlog in the state, which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

“At Northwest we believe the future of healthcare in Australia will be defined by enhanced collaboration between the public and private sectors, along with research and biotech, to facilitate a more integrated health ecosystem. Our speciality is in combining complementary facilities and facilitating collaboration between services and healthcare sectors to enhance the quality and capability of healthcare available – with this initiative at Frankston Private eliciting a great example of how collaborative and flexible health systems can work together to achieve better outcomes for patients.

 

“We look forward to expanding our partnership with the State Government and enhancing the facilities at the Hospital – with the Government investing in two new operating theatres and other theatre improvements. With these enhancements, the facility is aiming to be fully operational in 2023, servicing up to 9,000 public patients per year.”

 

Differing from other public facilities, the Hospital will focus purely on day surgery to service elective surgery backlog – there will be no emergency department to divert healthcare workers. Patients will receive the same expert level of care, with the majority of the dedicated staff deciding to stay on to care for Victorians in the public system. They’ll also be supported by a range of clinical staff, doctors and allied health professionals wo work across Peninsula Health campuses.

 

-ENDS-