Ramsay celebrates 60-year legacy

Sixty years ago, Australia's largest private healthcare business started out as a small psychiatric hospital in a converted guesthouse in Sydney.

Ramsay Health Care is now an international operation with more than 500 facilities and 88,000 employees building a significant legacy for founder Paul Ramsay who passed away in 2014.

His vision for Australian healthcare remains at the core of the company.

"From day one, Paul focused on caring for people – looking after the staff, looking after the doctors and looking after the patients," Ramsay Australia CEO Carmel Monaghan said.

"Ramsay Health Care is now the largest private healthcare operator in Australia but, most importantly, we are still people caring for people."

Over the decades in Australia, Ramsay has expanded to operate 74 hospitals and day surgeries across the country, employing 34,000 Australians and caring for 1.2 million patients each year.

"In 1964, with a handful of staff by his side, Paul converted a two-storey, brick guesthouse into a 16-bed psychiatric hospital and launched this amazing homegrown success story," Ms Monaghan said.

Paul Ramsay addresses guests at the handover ceremony of Hollywood Hospital in 1994

His legacy also includes the Paul Ramsay Foundation, one of Australia's largest philanthropic charities, dedicated to ending cycles of disadvantage in this country.

"We are incredibly proud of Ramsay's extraordinary history, but our future is even more exciting," Ms Monaghan said.

"We continue to invest in our hospital network and equipment, ensuring we have world-class facilities, and we are also transforming the business through technology and workforce development, as we seek to reimagine private healthcare in Australia."

Ramsay's Global Managing Director and CEO, Craig McNally, said the 60th anniversary would be a year of celebration for the group, which also has operations in Europe and the United Kingdom.

"Millions of people trust us with their healthcare around the globe and we take that responsibility seriously, which is why we will continue putting our patients at the centre of everything we do," Mr McNally said.

"I want to thank all our remarkable people, our doctors, patients and partners who remain at the heart of this terrific Ramsay story."

Read more: Ramsay ranked as 'most attractive' employer

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