Hannah Hammoud
This story was originally published in June 2024 and Star Weekly has chosen to share it again for readers to enjoy.
Less than 15 months after the multi-million dollar Sunshine Private Hospital was officially unveiled, the hospital is now closed and has entered into voluntary administration.
ABC Radio Melbourne reported on May 28, that the Sunshine Private Hospital was cancelling surgeries and relocating patients as it was placed into voluntary administration.
Health Worker Union (HWU) spokesperson Jake Mcguinness said it was disappointing that staff were given “such little notice” of the hospital’s closure.
“It’s very dissapointng that workers were only given a very short timeframe to make themselves aware of it,” he said.
Mr Mcguiness said the Sunshine Private Hospital was a project that was “a little overambitious” and was potentially delivered earlier than the demand for it was established.
“It is a state-of-the-art facility that cost $140 million to build. It’s in an area of Melbourne that is growing massively and is projected to grow massively over the next decade – I’m sure the site will be put to good use.“
Sunshine Private Hospital’s facilities included four operating theatres, an endoscopy suite a 30-bed medical and surgical ward including four high dependency beds, 24 day surgery beds, a 21-bed women’s mental health inpatient unit, consulting suites and sleep study facilities.
A glittering opening event held in March last year was attended by high profile personalities which included former AFL footballer Bachar Houli, then Brimbank mayor Bruce Lancashire, hospital chief executive Dr Malak Sukkar and St Albans MP Natalie Suleyman.
Speaking during the opening ceremony Ms Suleyman said the hospital services were not limited to Sunshine residents only, but extended to everyone living in Victoria.
“While the hospital is at the door steps of Sunshine residents, but other people from different parts of Melbourne will benefit from the services,” she said at the time.
EY Australia has taken on the receivership of the Sunshine Private Hospital following what it has described as a “challenging period for the hospital’s operator” and the appointment of Andrew McCabe and Chris Johnson from Wexted Advisors as voluntary administrators on May 27.
EY Australia said the receivers’ primary objective is to work with the landlord to identify a new operator for the Sunshine Private Hospital to secure its long-term future as part of the Sunshine Private Health Hub.
“The receivers’ appointment only extends to the Sunshine Private Hospital and not to the Sunshine Private Health Hub generally. There are other tenants operating from the Sunshine Private Health Hub and those businesses are continuing to provide valuable services to the community,” EY Australia said.
“The receivers are committed to transparent communication with all parties throughout the receivership process.”
