Mount Hospital's Fate Hangs in Balance After Healthscope's Financial Collapse
The future of Perth's Mount Hospital remains shrouded in uncertainty following the dramatic financial collapse of its operator, Healthscope, which entered receivership in May 2025. The Cook Government has maintained a tight-lipped stance on mounting calls to integrate the facility into the already strained public health system, leaving staff and patients in a state of prolonged limbo.
Receiver Process and Not-for-Profit Proposal
After US private equity giant Brookfield handed over the debt-laden Healthscope to receivers at McGrathNicol, a 10-month sales effort for its nationwide network of 37 hospitals failed to yield any deals. However, in February 2026, the receivers announced that five assets were being sold, including to primary competitor Ramsay Health, while the NSW Government moved to bring Northern Beaches Hospital in Sydney into the public system.
For the remaining 31 Healthscope hospitals, lenders are backing an ambitious plan to establish a new not-for-profit organisation to manage them. This structure would exempt the entity from payroll tax, which reportedly cost Healthscope up to $100 million annually. Central to this proposal is securing lower-rate leases with landlords, including Canada's Northwest Healthcare Properties and ASX-listed asset manager HMC Capital, negotiations for which have been intense and ongoing.
Threats to the Plan and Government Responses
Recent reports suggest that landlords may be supporting bids by major private hospital operators, such as Calvary Health Care and Pacific Equity Partners, to purchase 28 of the hospitals. This development threatens to derail the not-for-profit initiative and further fragment the asset portfolio. Despite the complexity, involving notoriously tricky hospital IT systems across multiple jurisdictions, the receivers express confidence that the charitable structure will be operational by mid-2026, providing much-needed certainty to 18,000 affected workers.
Australian Medical Association WA President Kyle Hoath has previously urged the Cook Government to seize the opportunity to acquire the 224-bed Mount Hospital for the public system, though he has not responded to recent requests for comment. A State Government spokeswoman stated that they continue to "monitor the ongoing developments of the Healthscope receiver process, and is aware that confidential commercial negotiations are in progress to ensure operational continuity at Mount Hospital."
Political and Industry Perspectives
Shadow Health Minister Libby Mettam criticized the Cook Government, asserting that they should be exploring "every available option to increase public hospital bed capacity in the quickest time possible." She added, "While the Premier and health minister continue to claim our health system is world class, it's clear they don't see the problem or the opportunities to fix it."
Meanwhile, St John of God Health Care is collaborating with the WA Government to transition Mt Lawley Hospital into a State-owned facility, with completion anticipated by August 2026. A spokeswoman noted, "The hospital continues to provide private healthcare services, as well as public healthcare services under contract to the State."
As negotiations continue, the path forward for Mount Hospital remains unclear, with stakeholders anxiously awaiting resolutions that could reshape Western Australia's healthcare landscape.
