Catholic Health Australia CEO, Pat Garcia.
The Catholic health sector has welcomed the news that the Federal Government will ensure its hospitals will be able to continue the fight against coronavirus.
The National Coronavirus partnership will provide the certainty that the not-for-profit hospital sector needs to maintain its full capacity and shift its service offerings towards fighting coronavirus.
Catholic hospitals, many established by religious orders, account for around 30 per cent of all private hospital patients and approximately 10 per cent of all healthcare needs across Australia.
Catholic Health Australia (CHA) CEO Pat Garcia said: “The not-for-profit Catholic hospitals welcome the Morrison Government's National Viability for Capacity Guarantee.
"This deal, made in conjunction with State and Territory partnership agreements, will ensure that everyone in the health sector - the private sector, Catholic not-for-profits and the public hospitals - will be working together to fight this pandemic. Our doctors and nurses have been ready for weeks but this deal ensures they can remain at their posts.
“Minister Hunt has guaranteed the Catholic hospital network’s viability through this pandemic. The Australian public can now take comfort that its 80 hospitals are well placed to continue to serve the sick over the course of this pandemic, and beyond.
“The Commonwealth government envisaged a nationwide response to the pandemic from all of our hospitals and thanks to the hard work by Minister Hunt that is exactly what we can achieve if everyone signs up to this historic deal. We urge the States and Territories to develop nationally consistent agreements with the private sector and to consider the universally supported Victorian model when doing that.
Mr Garcia added: “Importantly this partnership also ensures that Australia’s world-class health system will emerge intact on the other side of this pandemic. We know that there will be a backlog of elective surgeries and other care needs which just cannot be provided during a pandemic. The private health sector will now be able to provide the necessary resources to accelerate elective surgeries and ensure that all Australians receive the care they need, once the pandemic has passed.”