The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has welcomed an announcement from McGrathNicol that the sale of privately-owned hospital group owner Healthscope has been resolved.

ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler said it was good to finally have an outcome of the sale process for ANMF members working at Healthscope, their patients and wider communities around Australia, though many questions around the full details of the sale remain.

“The ANMF welcomes the announcement that the receiver has secured the future of Healthscope hospitals, with 31 sites transitioning into a NFP operation. From our persepective, it’s time for Healthscope to refocus on the delivery of quality healthcare – putting people before profits and we hope this transition will achieve this,” Ms Butler said.

“Since the collapse of Healthscope, the ANMF has been working hard with the Federal and State Governments and key stakeholders to keep hospitals open and jobs secure.

“That’s why we’re very pleased that there will be no closures under this new restructure.

“However, as frontline healthcare professionals, it’s crucial that our ANMF members and their patients have certainty and continuity of care at these hospitals across the country.

“While a NFP operator has the potential to reinvest revenue back into improving services, staffing and standards, we will be engaging constructively and very closely with the new operator to ensure this happens and that there is a smooth transition for the workforce in developing a sustainable health network.

“We also await further details of the sale of the hospitals not included in the NFP transition to guarantee job security for our members and continuity of care in those facilities as well.”