WBHHS joins private hospitals to boost Wide Bay hospital beds

Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service has partnered with three private hospitals in the region to make more hospital beds available.

WBHHS Chief Executive Debbie Carroll and WBHHS Board Chair Peta Jamieson meeting with representatives from Mater Private Hospital and Friendly Society Private Hospital at Bundaberg Hospital.

Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service has partnered with three private hospitals in the region to secure additional beds for patients - 30 in Bundaberg and 16 on the Fraser Coast.

In a statement released by the service this week, it announced that in Bundaberg it has partnered with Friendly Society Private Hospital and Mater Hospital, committing a total of 30 beds between them to meeting the increasing demand for health services.

Mater Private Hospital Bundaberg general manager Catherine Hackney said in the statement:

“This new partnership builds on the very close relationship we already have with our HHS colleagues. As a not-for-profit hospital, our mission is to support the health of the community and we are ready to provide public patients with exceptional care as and when required.”

Dr David Micheal (left) and Jonas Murphy are encouraging people to include a snake bite kit in their first aid kits. Image credit: WBHHS.

Friendlies chief executive Michelle Thompson said in the statement:

“We are delighted to be participating in the provision of collaborative care to the Bundaberg and Wide Bay region. This model not only goes to the very heart of our mission but, more importantly, strengthens and enhances our bed capacity and joint hospital capabilities to meet the expanding community’s needs.”

Hervey Bay St Stephen’s Hospital general manager Peter Wood is quoted in the statement saying:

“The focus at St Stephen’s has always been on making great care accessible closer to home for the people of our region. In the first month of the partnership, through 16 beds, St Stephen’s has already been able to provide care for more than 80 public patients requiring admission to hospital.”

Originally published as WBHHS joins private hospitals to boost Wide Bay hospital beds