Arabic version: توسع كالفاري يثير مخاوف بشأن الوصول إلى الرعاية الصحية
According to ABC News, Calvary’s planned takeover of Newcastle Private and Hunter Valley Private hospitals has raised concern among clinicians and community members over access to IVF, abortion, voluntary assisted dying, gender-affirming care and contraception. Doctors were told the services would no longer be offered within weeks and that they would need to practise in line with Catholic ethical standards.
Calvary, a Catholic not-for-profit provider, is poised to acquire 14 private hospitals from Healthscope, a move that would effectively double its private hospital network if approved by regulators. Catholic providers already operate about 6 per cent of Australia’s public and private hospitals. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is assessing the broader expansion on competition grounds.
Calvary said it recognised community concerns and uncertainty. It said that where an intervention could not be offered, it would treat people with dignity, provide clear information and support pathways to appropriate ongoing care. Its ethical code describes abortion as morally wrong and says procedures that substitute for the marital act are not morally permissible.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said its concern was access rather than Catholic ownership. President Dr Nisha Khot said legal healthcare should be available in every hospital and not be defined by an owner’s faith. She warned that concentration of Catholic providers could leave areas without hospital access to reproductive and sexual health care or voluntary assisted dying.
In Newcastle, the region’s public hospice is within a hospital run by Calvary and does not permit voluntary assisted dying drugs to be administered on site. Patients seeking that care must be moved elsewhere. A doctor who could not be named said delays in transfers could extend by several days, potentially affecting patients in their final hours. NSW leaders have ruled out refusing the hospital licence transfer, saying services will be available elsewhere, including through the public system.
