The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) and the Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA) note with concern that the second largest private hospital group in Australia, Healthscope, has gone into receivership. The fact that their 37 hospitals will all continue to provide their usual services during this period is reassuring. However, both bodies remain very concerned about the ongoing struggles facing the private hospital sector. The Healthscope situation is only one example of this.
The ASA provides support, representation, advocacy, and education for its anaesthetist members, with the aim of ensuring Australian patients continue to receive excellent anaesthesia care.
ASA President Dr. Mark Sinclair states “We must remember that the majority of all surgery in Australia is performed in the private healthcare sector. Healthscope itself treats over 600,000 patients every year. It is essential that this continue, and the private healthcare sector overall must be supported by governments at all levels. Our public hospitals simply could not cope with the increased workload should private hospitals be forced into closure”.
ANZCA is responsible for training, assessing and setting standards for all specialist anaesthetists and specialist pain medicine physicians in Australia and New Zealand, and for continuing professional development for its Fellows.
The ongoing work of ANZCA and ASA has resulted in Australian patients receiving arguably the world’s best anaesthesia care, and also pre- and post-operative care.
ANZCA President Prof. David Story notes “Our anaesthetists working in the private sector provide excellent patient care. They must continue to be supported by having all the necessary resources available to provide this care. Furthermore, many of our trainee anaesthetists receive a significant component of their education and training in the private sector, and any hospital closures would certainly have an adverse impact here”.
Doctors always act in the best interests of patients. ANZCA and ASA wish to ensure that those who provide hospital facilities or funding continue to provide patients with access to the highest quality healthcare.