Strategic initiatives to transform nation’s largest not-for-profit hospitals

MedTech News: A number of major initiatives relating to future planning for St Vincent’s public and private hospitals have commenced.

At the beginning of the year, St Vincent’s, the nation’s largest not-for-profit health and aged care provider, engaged consultancy Deloitte to undertake a comprehensive review process called Project Optima, to identify opportunities to provide better value care. 

“With a central focus on providing the best landscape for improved patient outcomes, Project Optima is looking at the most effective ways to utilise our assets and engage our workforce, the Project will also identify revenue opportunities across our continuum of care,” said A/Prof Anthony Schembri, CEO of SVHNS.

Currently the Project Optima team from Deloitte are consulting with a cross-section of staff and key stakeholders to get a clear picture of St Vincents’ needs and identify opportunities for improved service delivery.

Late last year, St Vincent’s formally launched stvincent’s@home, – an expansion of works aimed at providing alternative models of care beyond the walls of our hospitals. The programme includes six keys projects: Virtual Outpatient Project, Virtual Hospital Project, stvincent’s@home operating model, Transforming delivery of acute care, Expansion of Hospital In the Home (HITH), and Rehab and Palliative Care – Models of Care.

All six projects are now well underway with key appointments and new technologies embedded, helping to identify alternative models of care to enable quality care at home, while supporting the evolution of existing admitted models of care to transfer to stvincent’s@home.

In another major future proofing exercise for the Health Network, St Vincent’s has commenced a review and refresh of its Clinical Services Plan across all specialities and services in St Vincent’s Public and Private Hospitals. 

In 2017, St Vincent’s launched its Campus Clinical Services Strategy, setting out six strategic service commitments to 2027 including its Centres of Excellence strategy, precision healthcare and its enduring commitment to services and advocacy for the marginalised and vulnerable. 

In September 2020, St Vincent’s received $25 million from the NSW Government for the first stage of funding for the Cahill-Cater Campus redevelopment – a key part of the St Vincent’s Darlinghurst Campus redevelopment – which includes an immediate expansion of ICU and ambulatory care capacity in the Xavier Building, as well as detailed planning and site preparation for the full Cahill-Cater redevelopment.   

External consultants have now been engaged to conduct clinical consultations over the coming months to explore the Campus’ redevelopment needs, to optimise service delivery, use of assets and our research and innovation efforts across all Campus partners and project demand for ambulatory, in-home and virtual care services across all specialties to support stvincent’s@home. 

“These three distinctive but complimentary projects represent some terrific opportunities to grow our Mission of responding to community need, and we are hoping for as much staff input as possible as we map our pathway as a world-leading future-focussed health service,” said A/Prof Schembri.