Hollywood master plan on track

Western Australia’s largest private health facility is preparing for major growth during the coming decade amid forecast cuts to public health.

Hollywood Private Hospital, which was bought by Ramsay Health Care in 1994, has just completed a $74.1 million expansion, increasing its number of beds by 30 to 750 and number of theatres by six to 16.

Hollywood’s growth and plans for further expansion follow major spending on public facilities such as Fiona Stanley Hospital and the St John of God Midland Hospital, and coincide with calls from opposition leader Mark McGowan that the state government be upfront about how many jobs are set to be cut at state hospitals.

Mr McGowan has been circulating claims that up to 2,000 public hospital staff, including doctors and nurses, could lose their jobs.

Health Minister Kim Hames, who has not denied there would be job cuts, said hospitals needed to work within allocated budgets, which were expected to tighten.

Hollywood Private Hospital chief executive Peter Mott told Business News demand for private health facilities was increasing, with its new theatres already running at full capacity.

To staff its new Anne Leach wing, named after former nurse (pictured), Hollywood, which has about 2,000 employees, recently hired 100 workers and is planning to hire a further 70 in coming months.

“We’ve sort of come out of the blocks very quickly in this development,” Mr Mott said.

“Our revenue has increased every year, certainly for the past few years as we’ve geared up for this.

“We don’t build to have spare capacity, we invest capital only when we think there’s a good return on investment and that’s proven to be the case here when you’ve got six operating theatres fill so quickly.

“What that means for us is we need to get on now with our planning for the next phase of growth.”

Hollywood has already received council approval for its master plan, which includes development of up to six storeys in some parts of the 10-hectare Nedlands campus.

Mr Mott said the 73-year-old hospital was fortunate that its original layout had relied on a sprawling network of one-storey buildings, giving it more space overall and the opportunity to build upwards with fewer restrictions.

“Unlike many hospitals we’re not landlocked or land constrained,” he said.

“We’re very, very optimistic that we will be looking for further growth on this campus. We’re fortunate in as much that we’ve got a campus that’s got 10 hectares of land and we’re in prime real estate in terms of the western suburbs of Perth.”