Doctors revive hospital in $3m deal

An anaesthetist, a surgeon and a gastroenterologist have led a $3 million deal to rescue a private hospital from administration.

Waikiki Private Hospital operated for about 30 years before FTI Consulting’s Daniel Woodhouse and Ian Francis took the reins of the business in late October.

But the insolvency had a quick, positive resolution, with anaesthetist Cheng Bee Yip, gastroenterologist Ammar Nagree and bariatric surgeon Leigh Archer lodging a deed of company arrangement to keep the hospital afloat.

There’s been plenty of debate about the state of the health system in Western Australia, and Dr Archer seems eager for the team to contribute to a fix.

“I know for a fact that the private system is pivotal to ensuring safe patient care to our community,” he told Business News.

“I felt that the loss of this facility would really detriment the health of the people in the community.”

Dr Archer said he had decided early in his career to be a community surgeon, and had recently moved into the Rockingham region.

Waikiki could have a unique place in the landscape in the southern part of Perth as the Peel Health Campus is set to transfer from Ramsay Health Care to government operation in August next year.

That will leave a dearth of private providers between Murdoch and Bunbury. 

“(I feel) a sense of excitement for what can be achieved with this facility, it’s got really strong support,” Dr Archer said.

“I'm excited about being able to make a difference to the community.

“I have a strong sense of responsibility to do that right.”

Dr Yip said the new ownership would seek to make Waikiki a centre of excellence for particular fields, including in gastroenterology and preventative health.

That could include expanding the endoscopy unit, with Waikiki hoping to alleviate a 4,000 person backlog on the list for that procedure in the South Metro area.

But while Dr Yip has her eye on expansion opportunities and securing investors or new specialists, the team is keen to preserve the culture of the hospital.

“The hospital is like family to us, the staff, the nurses, everyone is like family to us,” she said.

Dr Nagree has a similar focus.

He said it’s an honour for the three doctors to be owning the hospital.

Each of the three doctors will retain their specialties, but a new manager will be appointed to focus on business development.

Keeping a hands-on approach would mean the doctors continue to understand the business at a grassroots level, Dr Nagree said, and would not become too much of a corporate enterprise.

“We all feel very honoured that we’ve got this opportunity,” Dr Nagree said.

“We can affect some change, we can make this place better… for doctors, staff and the community.”

But the insolvency process did not come without hurdles.

That required navigation through the rules of WA Health’s Licensing and Accreditation Regulatory Unit, who are responsible for ensuring private hospitals meet appropriate standards, particularly during the administration process when the hospital may have been at risk of losing accreditation.

Dr Archer said the LARU had been supportive through the insolvency and instrumental in the outcome.

Lavan advised on the deal and through the restructure process, while the three doctors self-funded the deal.

Dr Yip said the doctors would also consider approaching the state government to help fund future repair works.