Healthscope Enters Receivership as Banks Pledge $100 Million to Keep Hospitals Open

Australia's second-largest private hospital operator Healthscope entered receivership Monday, but major banks have committed funding to ensure the company's 37 hospitals continue operating without disruption to patient care or staff employment.

Commonwealth Bank will provide $100 million in new funding while Westpac has agreed to supply working capital to receivers McGrath Nicol, who will oversee the sale of the heavily indebted healthcare provider. Healthscope treats 650,000 patients annually and employs 19,000 doctors, nurses and support staff across all states and territories.

The receivership affects only Healthscope's parent companies, not the operational businesses running the hospitals, executives said during separate news conferences Monday afternoon.

"It's business as usual for Healthscope in all of its 37 hospitals," CEO Tino Laspina told reporters. "For this week we've got 8,700 patients coming to our facilities and for them you can expect to receive the same fantastic care from dedicated professionals, nurses, doctors and support staff that you would any other day of the week."

Health Minister Mark Butler said the government had been meeting with Healthscope "for some considerable time" as speculation about receivership spread through the healthcare sector.

"I want to be clear that I expect to see an orderly sale process eventuate from this decision to a new owner with no impact on patients and no impact on hardworking staff," Butler said.

The minister confirmed he received assurances from Laspina that thousands of Australians with scheduled surgeries and procedures at Healthscope facilities can proceed as planned.

"I had a conversation over the last half an hour with the CEO, Tino Laspina, and I sought an assurance from him that the thousands of Australians who right now have a birth planned or a knee reconstruction booked at a HealthScope hospital can be confident that that procedure will go ahead as planned and as booked," Butler said.

---

Truth matters. Quality journalism costs.

Your subscription to Mencari directly funds the investigative reporting our democracy needs. For less than a coffee per week, you enable our journalists to uncover stories that powerful interests would rather keep hidden. There is no corporate influence involved. No compromises. Just honest journalism when we need it most.

---