Hospitals cleared to merge

By ANNE GIBSON

Ascot Hospital and Clinics says it will have the largest private hospital in New Zealand, after the Commerce Commission cleared it to buy the surgical services of the Mercy Hospital in Auckland.

Commission acting chairwoman Paula Rebstock said she was satisfied the acquisition would not substantially lessen competition for surgical services.

The Sisters of Mercy, who have run Mercy Hospital in Mountain Rd, Epsom, for 100 years, will retain ownership of the building.

The nuns plan to refocus their healthcare interests on community-based and aged care.

The sale price has not been revealed.

Calan's managing director, Martin Lyttelton, said yesterday that merging the services of the Ascot and Mercy would give it 19 operating theatres and more than 200 beds on the two sites, making the combined hospitals the single largest in the private healthcare sector.

"This is hugely exciting and now we can make real advances in cardiac and orthopaedic care, as well as providing radiotherapy services which will relieve the incredible stresses being placed on the public health sector."

Mr Lyttelton said the two hospitals would be rebranded as Mercy Ascot and become the pre-eminent private surgical facility in New Zealand.

Calan also intends to provide the first private radiotherapy clinic for cancer patients, at its planned Takapuna hospital.

"It would be hugely sensible for people to have a choice, rather than having to fly to Australia," said Mr Lyttelton.

Calan is on an aggressive expansion in the private healthcare service industry, planning to spend $17 million next year building a five-level clinic for specialists alongside its Ellerslie hospital.

"This is an opportunity for New Zealanders to get state-of-the-art, first-world healthcare," said Mr Lyttelton.

"Every time someone has a hip operation in the private sector, that frees between $10,000 and $13,000 worth of public resources, which can go towards treating other illnesses."

The integration of the Epsom and Ellerslie hospitals would create a new centre for excellence in private healthcare and would lead to the growth of existing services, he said.

New areas of specialisation and services would be introduced.

The way services would be divided between the hospitals had yet to be decided, said Mr Lyttelton.

Discussions were taking place with medical specialists to see what they wanted.

Calan, formed in 1994 to invest in health sector properties, has total assets of $213 million and a portfolio of 20 income-generating properties in Auckland, Hamilton, Hawkes Bay, Whangarei and Melbourne.

Calan

Mercy