St John of God Health Care is set to bolster its presence in Western Australia with the acquisition of the 205-bed Mercy Hospital in Mount Lawley.
St John of God Health Care has closed the gap with the state's biggest private hospital operator, Ramsay Health Care, with a deal to acquire the iconic Mercy Hospital in Mount Lawley.
Adding Mercy Hospital's 205 beds pushes St John of God's current bed numbers in WA to 1375, including the regional hospitals in Bunbury and Geraldton. A further 367 beds are due to come on line in Midland in 2015.
Ramsay has 1519 beds in WA in five hospitals led by its Joondalup and Hollywood operations. The full list of 26 WA facilities is available in the BNIQ hospital list.
St John of God chief executive Michael Stanford said the transfer of ownership was expected to be completed by mid-2014, subject to regulatory and church approvals, adding that Mercy Hospital was an excellent match with his group.
Mercy Hospital has a strong tradition in women's health and both organisations are historically linked to the Catholic religious orders founded in Ireland, the Sisters of St John of God and the Sisters of Mercy. The larger West Perth-based St John of God Health Care has expanded rapidly during the past decade or so, taking over hospitals run by several other orders.
"It is our intention to invest in expanding its services and growing obstetrics, medicine and surgery in an integrated way with our existing Perth metropolitan hospitals," Dr Stanford said.
"We also intend to build on Mercy Hospital's rehabilitation services and develop a significant private specialist rehabilitation service to support patients in private and public acute hospitals."
Mercy Hospital will continue to operate as normal during the approval process.
The facility, which opened in 1937 as St Anne's Hospital, has recently been refurbished, with contractor Doric building a new facade and entrance
MercyCare chief executive Chris Hall said the sale provided its staff with long-term security under a large-scale operator with similar values.
"This allows MercyCare the opportunity to look at providing a wider range of health care and social services in people's homes and in their communities, and increasing access to services for people who are without adequate assistance or are marginalised from mainstream," he said.
The acquisition will take the number of hospitals run by St John of God to 14.
St John of God is also currently working towards the completion of the Midland Health Campus in 2015, which it will design and operate under a public private partnership.
The facility will consist of a 307-bed public hospital and a 60-bed private hospital.
St John of God is among the biggest employers in WA with more than 5,000 staff in the state, according to Business News research.
