Latest news with #KeithCrawford
Perth Now
26-05-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Big banks hand private hospital giant a $100m lifeline
Two major banks will help keep Australia's second-largest hospital operator afloat as its struggles with crippling debt. Commonwealth Bank announced on Monday it would provide $100 million to support Healthscope, which operates 37 hospitals in every Australian state and territory. Westpac has agreed to continue to provide assistance to help receivers sell the business, offering some clarity to the provider's 18,000 employees. Receivers have been appointed, led by McGrathNicol partner Keith Crawford, who said the focus was to engage "constructively with all key stakeholders to ensure uninterrupted operation of Healthscope hospitals". He said the intention was to transition all hospitals to new ownership, with no plans for closures or redundancies. Healthscope said while the parent entity had entered receivership, the operational business, which runs the hospitals, has not. Every hospital would operate as normal, chief executive Tino La Spina said. He revealed the additional funding would ensure a stable path to sale. "There is no interruption to the outstanding care we provide ... the additional funding, while we do not anticipate it being required, provides additional support," Mr Spina said. "The receivers and management share the same goal of maintaining our market-leading standards of patient care and protecting the business, the hospitals and our amazing people." The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation earlier said it had been working with members and stakeholders navigating the financial difficulties and uncertainty. "For the nurses and midwives who care for patients in Healthscope every day, this is a very difficult and worrying time," union official Phoebe Mansell said. "The financial collapse of Healthscope is a stark and shocking reminder of the dangers of privatising essential healthcare services." The operator owns the Northern Beaches Hospital in Sydney, Hobart Private Hospital, Darwin Private Hospital and Knox Private Hospital in Melbourne. In May 2024, then chief executive Greg Horan said even though the sector was "facing considerable headwinds", providing the "best care" remained a top priority. The company came under scrutiny following the death of two-year-old Joe Massa at the Northern Beaches Hospital in September 2024. The toddler died after being wrongly triaged and waiting two hours for a hospital bed. He was later transferred to Sydney Children's Hospital in Randwick following a cardiac arrest but succumbed to brain damage. Healthscope moved to shutdown maternity services at Darwin Private Hospital and Hobart Private Hospital earlier in 2025.
9 News
26-05-2025
- Business
- 9 News
Private health giant falls into receivership, putting 37 hospitals up for sale
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here BREAKING Victoria to ban sale of machetes after shopping centre brawl Major private health group Healthscope has fallen into receivership and is seeking to sell all of its hospitals, but it says there will be no immediate impact on its facilities and patients and staff due to a $100 million lifeline. Owned by Canadian private equity firm Brookfield, Healthscope is Australia's second-largest private hospital group, owning 37 hospitals across the country. However, it is currently saddled with some $1.6 billion in debt, according to the Australian Financial Review . Northern Beaches Hospital, one of 37 hospitals owned by Healthscope across Australia. (Renee Nowytarger/AFR) Healthscope called in receivers today, but reassured there won't be an impact on its staff and patients after Commonwealth Bank provided it with a $100 million funding package. "We want to make it clear that the subsidiaries that own and operate Healthscope's network of hospitals are not affected by our appointment to the shareholding companies," receiver Keith Crawford of McGrathNicol said in a statement. "Our immediate focus is to engage constructively with all key stakeholders to ensure uninterrupted operation of Healthscope hospitals and continuity of best practice standards of patient care. "We will also work closely with Healthscope management to support any operational funding requirements via access to $100 million of new funding from Commonwealth Bank while we pursue an orderly transition of ownership of Healthscope's hospitals." Brookfield purchased Healthscope for $5.7 billion in 2019. health national Australia finance business CONTACT US
