Adelaide hospital sale 'the right outcome'

Adelaide's Burnside War Memorial Hospital has announced it plans to buy Sportsmed Hospital so it can meet rising demand for its healthcare services.

The purchase, which is expected to be completed in early September 2023, will effectively double Burnside Hospital's capacity from five operating theatres to 10 while boosting bed numbers from 76 to 125.

"We are continually looking for ways to strengthen our business and improve our offering to ensure we can keep meeting the needs of our community," Burnside War Memorial Hospital CEO Alan Morrison said.

"To do this, we need more capacity. All our theatres are fully utilised, and we are not able to meet current demand from surgeons and their patients, particularly in orthopaedics. That's why we have been looking for a hospital with the ability to help us grow."

The hospital is based in Sportsmed's Stepney hub, around three kilometres away from Burnside's site.

For the past 25 years it has provided orthopaedic surgery within the group, which is owned and operated by practitioners and offers a range of services including sports doctors, physiotherapy and podiatry.

All clinical staff will retain their roles and both hospitals will continue to service their current theatre lists.

"The spare capacity within the Stepney facility will help us meet unmet demand for services," said Mr Morrison, who was CEO of Sportsmed for 11 years before joining Burnside in June 2022.

"Looking ahead, the scale of our combined operations and the growth we anticipate at Burnside Hospital Stepney will unlock more opportunities at both sites and give us more capability in terms of our future business strategy," he added.

"This is an exciting time. We are building on 65 years of history to create a stronger and more capable hospital service across two sites with one shared commitment – to care for our community."

Burnside Hospital CEO Alan Morrison

Sportsmed said the planned deal, pending due diligence, was "the right outcome" for the group, the hospital, its staff and patients.

"The proposed sale of our hospital business gives us the best of both worlds," it said in a statement on its website.

"Our surgeons will still have access to great services at the hospital without the challenges associated with running such a large business. This will enable us to focus on our core business of clinical care."

Like the War Memorial, the rebranded Burnside Hospital Stepney will be run as a not-for-profit private community facility with the same patient-first ethos.

"The most visible change will be a new logo. However, for the rest of Sportsmed and for patients, it's very much business as usual," the group statement added.

"That's true of all our other Sportsmed businesses including our sports doctors, physiotherapy, podiatry and orthopaedic clinic services. They remain owned and controlled by Sportsmed across our Stepney, Mitcham, Morphett Vale, Blackwood and Henley Beach sites."

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