24 November 2015

1. Welcome
The Hon Colin Barnett – Premier of Western Australia
The Hon Kim Hames – Deputy Premier; Minister for Health; Tourism
The Hon Ken Wyatt – Assistant Minister for Health; Member for Hasluck
The Hon Roger Cook – Shadow Health Minister
Distinguished guests all

2. Momentous occasion
I have personally worked on delivering this exciting hospital project for more than five years, the last three-and-a-half of which have involved designing,
building and clinically commissioning the hospital.

During that time we members of the consortium that won the bid to design, build and operate the public hospital have had enormous support from so many passionate and committed people including those from the central Health Department, from the North Metropolitan Health Service and from Swan District Hospital.

Everyone we have worked with has been focussed on delivering a great outcome for the patients, families and communities that this hospital will serve.  We have even had great support from hospitals elsewhere in Australia who have undergone similar greenfield redevelopments, all of them being so willing to share their experiences and learnings.

Today is a momentous day for the WA and Commonwealth Governments who have each half funded the capital to build this wonderful public hospital.

I am sure today is also important for those in the community who have been pushing, cajoling, imploring and strategising for so long to get for Midland
and its catchment this outstanding new health infrastructure. I know this hospital is seen as a key part of the ongoing vitalisation, growth and development of Midland as a major regional centre.

3. St John of God Health Care
Today with the opening of St John of God Midland Public Hospital and its affiliated, private hospital, SJGHC now operates 23 facilities across Australia and New Zealand; 17 overnight hospitals, 4 day hospitals, and 2 long term care facilities.

SJGHC, in addition to hospital services, is a major provider of pathology, home nursing and social outreach services.

We are a Not-For-Profit charity; any dollars we earn are turned directly back into improving our facilities and services and providing other community
benefits, including education and research.

Importantly for this project we are WA-based, our head office is in West Perth.

In total we now employ 13,500 staff and our hospitals operate 3,000 beds. 8,500 of our caregivers are in WA.

WA matters enormously to us; our privilege of caring for so many Western Australians for so long will now be extended to the community served by this hospital.

4. St John of God Health Care and public health
We have a long history of working closely with State and Federal Governments to provide health services in WA, Vic and NSW.

St John of God Midland Public Hospital becomes our third hospital with a major, ongoing State Government contract. In addition to 307 beds for public patients here, we operate 36 beds for public rehabilitation and psychogeriatric services at our St John of God Mt Lawley Hospital, and, as of three weeks ago, we now run a 125-bed general hospital under a PPP
arrangement in Windsor, west of Sydney.

In WA our other public health contracts include cardiac, chemotherapy, dialysis, palliative care and wait list surgery services; Alcohol and other
Drugs services, a Melanoma Advisory Service, and an Aboriginal Perinatal and Infant Mental Health attachment program.

As an organisation, we are committed to growing our involvement in publicly funded health care and we look forward to St John of God Midland Public
Hospital being the centrepiece of that growth.

We are delighted that it is the State Government’s published intention to increase from 35% to 75% the proportion of the catchment population who will be cared for locally, rather than having to travel great distances for their care.
The expanded range and volume of services at St John of God Midland Public Hospital will enable us to achieve this objective.

We absolutely intend to provide values-based, exceptional quality clinical services at this hospital, in an integrated way with the rest of the WA public
hospital system, so that we can achieve or better that 75% self-sufficiency target.

5. What can people expect of us?
We will provide exceptional care because:

o We have a Value of Excellence which drives our behaviour
o We have a Strategic Priority of being a recognised leader in the
provision of high quality health care in Australia
o We have sophisticated clinical risk management systems aimed at
delivering zero preventable harm
o We actively engage in undergraduate and post graduate education
and fund high quality research, each of these being an integral
component of exceptional care.
o We invest in personal and professional development of our
employees so that they have the skills, resources and attitude to
provide exceptional care.

The State Government’s announcement of the $22 million Curtin University Clinical School adjacent to the hospital will support the highest possible
standards of care at SJGMPH.

We will also be a strong community participant and leader.

In establishing this wonderful new facility, we have consulted widely with the community about the hospital’s role and have developed extensive plans
for integration of the hospital with local activities

We will be working hard to respect the diversity of the catchment population, noting that it is home to one quarter of Aboriginal people living in Perth. We have already worked with the local Aboriginal community through Kambarang to create a culturally sensitive and welcoming space for Aboriginal people

We will be an attractive employer, bringing opportunities to many people in the region in addition to the 1,500 caregivers already in our employ

6. Thank you
On behalf of St John of God Health Care I would like to thank the WA Government for its faith in us as a hospital operator and its support of us over the last three-and-a-half years.

I would like to thank the large team from Brookfield Multiplex and Hassell architects whose professionalism and skill has helped deliver this
outstanding facility on time and on budget, and also thank their many contractors and consultants.

The teams from NS Projects and Price Waterhouse Coopers are thanked for their outstanding project management

A huge thank you to the literally hundreds of SJGHC caregivers (perhaps 300 in total) from around Australia who have given up significant amounts
of their time, often at short notice, to get this project to the starting line. For them it has been exhausting but eminently worthwhile.

Thank you to the Commonwealth Government for committing half the funds for the public hospital.

Thank you also to the many other consultancies and community groups who have assisted us to date and with whom we look forward to working in the years ahead.

Lastly, thank you to the citizens of this public hospital catchment whom it will be our privilege to serve, in an exceptional way.