St John of God set to close Mercy buy

St John of God Health Care says it has received final approvals for the purchase of Mercy Hospital in Mount Lawley, which will be renamed St John of God Mt Lawley Hospital.

MercyCare will officially hand over ownership of the hospital to fellow Catholic health provider St John of God next month, completing a deal announced in November last year.

The acquisition will push St John of God's current bed numbers in WA to 1,375, including regional hospitals in Bunbury and Geraldton.

A further 367 beds are due to come on line in Midland in 2015.

The state's biggest private hospital operator, Ramsay Health Care, has 1,519 beds in WA in five hospitals, led by its Joondalup and Hollywood operations. The full list of 26 WA facilities is available in the Business News IQ hospital list.

St John of God chief executive Michael Stanford said the company planned to move swiftly to update and refurbish equipment and facilities at the hospital, which opened in 1937.

"We have been working closely with MercyCare since they accepted our offer to ensure a smooth and speedy transition once the purchase was approved," he said.

"As we previously announced, we intend to invest in expanding the facilities and services of the hospital.

"We have a particular focus on rehabilitation and also intend to grow obstetrics, medicine and surgery in an integrated way with our existing Perth metropolitan hospitals." 

St John of God Subiaco director of nursing Chris Hanna has been appointed as chief executive of St John of God Mt Lawley Hospital.

MercyCare chief executive Chris Hall said the sale of the hospital would ensure a certain future for its staff and the community.

He said the not-for-profit organisation would turn its attention to providing social and community services for marginalised people.

"MercyCare will not be departing health care altogether; we are simply moving our focus from acute health care to more community health care, and indeed to areas of emerging need such as mental health," Mr Hall said.