May 19, 2015
South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann will be travelling to Brisbane on Wednesday for emergency talks over the fate of the South Burnett Private Hospital.
The talks follow news last week that current operator Pulse Health will cease operating the hospital on June 30.
Mayor Kratzmann plans to hold exploratory talks with another potential hospital operator.
He will also be seeking a meeting with Health Minister Cameron Dick to see if the State Government can provide any help with the problem.
He said another option he would be exploring was to see if the facility’s specialist consulting rooms and operating theatre could be kept keep running for day surgery, even if the hospital itself was closed.
The Mayor told ABC Radio on Tuesday he was disappointed with Pulse Health’s decision, which came after two weeks of “promising discussions” about the facility.
“My communication and conversation with Pulse Health has ended because there’s no future,” he said.
The Mayor was also critical of the short notice the company had given the region about its decision to pull out.
“Had they told me six months ago I would have started this campaign then, now I’ve only got six weeks to get it sorted.”
Mayor Kratzmann told southburnett.com.au discussions he’d had with some local medical professionals led him to believe part of the blame for the hospital’s profitability problems could be laid at Pulse Health’s own feet.
“I’ve been told that some local medicos felt they had no relationship with Pulse,” he said.
“They told me they felt it was difficult to deal with the hospital, so they referred patients elsewhere.”
“We’d even offered Pulse some assistance with marketing the hospital’s services to improve this situation, but they weren’t interested.”
The Mayor held discussions with South Burnett medical professionals on Tuesday night to get their thoughts about what the hospital’s closure would mean to local health services in the region.
Their views will help background his Brisbane trip.
Pulse says its decision to pull out of the South Burnett is because the hospital has become unprofitable in recent times.
In February – in an investor presentation lodged with the Australian Stock Exchange – Pulse Health said that during 2014 the South Burnett Private Hospital contributed 4 per cent of the company’s $26.5 million revenue (ie $1.06 million).
Pulse Health currently operates seven medical facilities in Queensland and NSW, including the South Burnett Private Hospital.
It has projected revenue increases of 12 per cent for 2015, driven by an ageing population in its markets and increased demand across its network.
According to the company’s Half Yearly Report and Accounts to December 31 last year, Pulse Health also runs a performance incentive scheme which will see its executive team awarded 1,260,000 ordinary share rights if they can lift the company’s share price to 84c by December 2017, a shared million dollar bonus.
At the close of trading on Tuesday, Pulse Health shares were 51c.
Related articles:
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- Hospital Discussions ‘Fruitful’
- May Day Call To Save Hospital
- Hospital Renovations Begin Soon
- Glimpse Into A Healthy Future
- Pulse Confirms It Will Run Hospital
- Hospital Talks ‘Progressing Well’
- Pulse ‘Highly Likely’ To Run Hospital
- Pulse ‘Keen To Run Hospital’
- Council To Run Private Hospital
- Talks On Hospital Future
