Operational change at Hawkesbury District Health Service

31 Jan 2024

Joint planning is underway with NBMLHD to smoothly hand over the hospital’s operations to NBMLHD. The transfer is planned to be complete by 30 June 2024.

Continuity of care and patient safety is the first priority during the transition, and St John of God Health Care is partnering closely with the NBMLHD to ensure an orderly and thorough handover.

“We are proud to have served the Hawkesbury community for the past eight years, and we will work closely with the local health district to ensure a smooth transition for our patients and caregivers,” St John of God Health Care Chief Executive Officer Bryan Pyne said.

The hospital will continue to service the community as normal during the transition, including its 24/7 emergency department. After the transition high quality clinical services will continue to be provided to the community by NBMLHD.

The decision not to renew the contract with NBMLHD was reached as part of an organisational review that St John of God Health Care launched in 2023. Opportunities to grow some services and reshape others have been identified during the review.

Operating a single public private partnership hospital in New South Wales creates a range of operational and financial challenges. The aim of the review is to ensure the long-term sustainability of St John of God Health Care’s national range of services and to align those services with the community’s changing health care needs.

This transfer will mean Hawkesbury District Health Service will be managed within the public sector, aligning it with the other hospitals in the local health district and most hospitals within NSW Health.

St John of God Health Care will maintain its two other NSW hospitals (both private mental health hospitals), St John of God Richmond Hospital and St John of God Burwood Hospital.