More than two thirds of Calvary Public Hospital staff put their hands up to stay on after transition

The transition of Calvary Public Hospital Bruce (CPHB) appears to be on track with all of the executive team and almost two thirds of the workforce already electing to stay on.

As of 22 June, the Northside Hospital Transition Team had received 1228 Employee Transition Forms, which equates to 68 per cent of the estimated 1,800-strong workforce at the facility.

One of these is Executive Director of Medical Services Dr Elaine Pretorius, who will become the northside hospital’s general manager after she transitions to Canberra Health Services (CHS).

In an email to all staff seen by Region, CHS CEO Dave Peffer said the service had given its commitment to the Calvary workforce that they wanted certainty and stability, and this was one part of delivering that promise.

“The team has shared with me how important it is to have certainty who they’ll be working for after the acquisition – to that end, we’re progressing well in securing the entire existing leadership team,” he said.

“Particularly important, I’m very pleased to announce that Dr Elaine Pretorius, who is stepping into the general manager role, has agreed to transition across to CHS and remain in that position, leading the hospital post-acquisition.”

Dr Pretorius had stepped into the general manager role following the work of interim general manager Daniel Wood.

Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said all CPHB executives had elected to transition, which meant it would be run by the same management team which is currently in place.

She said while Dr Pretorius is new to the ACT, she had already made an impact.

“People have very much supported her appointment as the general manager of [the northside] hospital,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.

“So we’re really confident that this transition is proceeding in the way that we had hoped and expected, and that ultimately what we will end up with is an integrated, networked public hospital system working collaboratively with our private hospital partners, which will continue to include Calvary Health Care.”

Calvary’s Regional CEO Ross Hawkins is heading up the CPHB’s transition team, and also let hospital staff know about Dr Pretorius’s appointment.

He said she would make an “excellent general manager” both during the transition phase and post-transfer.

“I wish her all the very best in this role and I know the hospital is in safe hands,” Mr Hawkins said.

In his all-staff email, he stated changes would start to be seen around the hospital as the acquisition date drew closer.

“As we move closer to 3 July, you will see a number of CHS people and visitors around the hospital, and may also notice Calvary artifacts, branding and iconography starting to be removed from the CPHB site,” Mr Hawkins said.

“A reminder that we have asked that anyone who enters the CPHB workspace to identify themselves so that staff are aware of who they are, and what is happening.”

The transition of staff has also accelerated since the Supreme Court decision that the Act enabling the acquisition of CHPB’s land was valid.

Mr Peffer put it down to uncertainty about the hospital’s future being removed.

“Since the Supreme Court decision we’ve seen a marked acceleration in Calvary team members indicating a desire to transition to CHS,” he said.

The Employee Transition Forms were originally accessible online, however CHS now has a physical presence at the CPHB campus, setting up an information kiosk on Thursday (15 June).

Staff who registered to transition their employment to CHS started receiving letters of offer from 13 June, with 849 letters sent and 368 letters of offer accepted.

As permitted under the Act, the workforce can continue to be transitioned to CHS after 3 July.

Northside Hospital Transition Team Deputy Director General Cathie O’Neill said this number was expected to grow.

“The Transition Team stands ready to work with each individual employee to discuss their individual circumstances,” she said.

“We understand that not everyone may want to transition their employment to Canberra Health Services. This is a matter for individual team members to discuss with the HR team at Calvary.”

Mr Peffer said the recent week had yielded some “great collaborative work” between CHS’s transition team and Calvary’s leadership team.

“The [Supreme Court] decision cleared the path for the transition to proceed – and we’re now full throttle, working towards 3 July,” he said.

“It’s been good to move from planning in isolation, towards a partnership approach.

“From Ross [Calvary’s Regional CEO] and his transition team, our focus has been completely shared – patients and workforce first.”

The teams have also been working on key supply and service contracts, as well as critical ICT to support ongoing service provision past the acquisition date of 3 July.