“There is a self-evident need for an efficiently run Territory-wide public hospital system that accommodates a significantly increasing population,” Chief Minister Andrew Barr said yesterday, in the debate over the controversial Health and Infrastructure Enabling Bill.

• Calvary acquisition passes; legal action begins (1 June)
• Canberra Liberals: “You cannot trust this government…” (1 June)

For that reason, Calvary Public Hospital Bruce must be taken under the wing of Canberra Health Services, with the Canberra Hospital and the University of Canberra Hospital.

“Transitioning operations to Canberra Health Services will create a more efficient and integrated health system that will allow us to better coordinate our health services, distribute resources effectively, strengthen the capacity of our workforce, and plan the infrastructure we need on a Territory-wide level,” Mr Barr said.

• Calvary takeover bill introduced to ACT Assembly (11 May)
• ACT government claims Calvary negotiations failed (11 May)
• New northside hospital to be built on Calvary Public hospital site (10 May)

In the government’s opinion, Calvary Public Hospital will soon no longer be fit for purpose. The 1970s-built hospital has 260 beds, and caters for less than a quarter of the public hospital activity in the ACT, Mr Barr said.

Its capacity will need to more than double by 2041, Mr Barr said, to serve the population of Canberra’s northside – expected to grow by at least another 200,000 people by 2060.

A 2020 condition assessment also found that Calvary Public Hospital’s buildings were ageing, and most would need to be replaced.

Government analysis recommended that a new northside hospital be built, rather than remediating and expanding the buildings, Mr Barr said.

The Calvary Public Hospital site was deemed better than greenfield sites in north Canberra because there were enough services for a hospital to operate; the public was familiar with public hospital services at that site; there was enough room to build a new hospital without stopping services during construction; and the campus was accessible, and near arterial roads and the future light rail corridor.

“Ultimately, the existing site of the public hospital in Bruce is the most suitable and logical for a new northside hospital,” Mr Barr said.

The ACT Government funds, but does not operate, Calvary Public Hospital. Either the Commonwealth Government or the ACT Government paid for all the buildings at the site, Greens leader Shane Rattenbury stated. (The Commonwealth built the hospital and provided a Crown Lease on the land in the 1970s.)

The ACT Government pays $260 million every year for Calvary’s services – “one of the largest contracts held by the Territory” – and capital works at Calvary have cost the ACT Government more than $62 million over the last five years.

“These are significant sums of public money, vital resources that are being invested,” Mr Rattenbury said. “We need to make sure we are getting the best possible return on that investment.”

The new hospital is expected to cost $1 billion, and open in 2030. It will double the number of beds and offer more services than Calvary does now, Canberra Health Services claims. Under the one-service operator model of public hospital services, the ACT Government will design and build the northside hospital, and Canberra Health Services will then operate it.

“This major new asset for the people of Canberra must be fully and properly integrated with ACT Health services,” Mr Barr said. “It presents a significant shift in the provision of healthcare, but is in alignment with other jurisdictions and regions of a similar size, and it provides opportunity for greater health efficiencies and outcomes.”

The ACT Government claims that it originally tried to negotiate with Calvary last year to buy the land and negotiate a new, modern services agreement. (The Calvary Network Agreement and Crown Lease were due to expire in 2098.)

Health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith warned Calvary that the government could use legislation to transfer the land to itself. While Canberra Health Services has said negotiations were unsuccessful, Calvary tells a different story: the CEO, Martin Bowles, has said the organisation received no correspondence from the ACT Government for six months, until Ms Stephen-Smith told him, two days before the public announcement, that they would introduce the bill.

• Calvary threatens legal action unless bill debate is adjourned (30 May)
• Calvary: Negotiations with ACT or legal options (24 May)

Mr Rattenbury, however, blames Calvary for the failure of the negotiations. “Calvary had an agreement that ran for decades more. Changes to update arrangements or seek out improved coordination of services could only be made when Calvary chose to agree.

“And they chose not to agree. Although they contemplated the potential for acquisition that had been identified by the government as a possible pathway, they instead chose to stay in their preferred position.

“This left the government with a stark choice – continue with an outdated approach that our partner had limited interest in reforming, or make the difficult decision, bite the bullet, and take the option that will deliver a better healthcare system for Canberrans into the future.”

• Canberran protesters for and against Calvary acquisition (31 May)
• Nurses write open letter re acquisition of Calvary Public Hospital (27 May)
• AMA: ACT Government ignored Calvary doctors (22 May)
• Belco Party condemns Calvary acquisition (22 May)
• Fit the bill: Labor-Greens cross to bear – Calvary takeover (20 May)