The Hon. John Howard MP Prime Minister of Australia

07 April 2003
The Hon. John Howard MP Prime Minister of Australia officially opened a multimillion dollar expansion at Greenslopes Private Hospital on Monday 7 April, 2003 .

The expansion completed in March 2003, makes Greenslopes Private Hospital - with 530 beds - the largest private hospital in the nation.

The $37 million dollar redevelopment of the hospital incorporates a 90 private bed wing, 4 additional operating theatres and 32 onsite medical consulting suites.

The hospital has a strong reputation in Queensland for the provision of excellent services to the veteran community and has continued to substantially enhance its services and facilities as one of Queensland’s finest and most comprehensive private hospitals, since the takeover of the Hospital by Ramsay Health Care in 1995.

Speaking at the Opening the Chairman of Ramsay Health Care, Paul Ramsay, said the completion of the redevelopment, and its official opening by the Prime Minister, was a very exciting phase in the hospital’s 60 year history.

“ We welcome the Federal Government’s support of the private hospital sector and its promotion of a complementary private and public health system. We are delighted that the Prime Minister has been able to officially open the expansion of Greenslopes, now Australia’s largest private hospital,” Mr Ramsay said. “This new development, undertaken by John Hollands Pty Ltd, will ensure that Greenslopes Private Hospital is at the forefront in health care, providing a comprehensive range of facilities to private as well as veteran patients.”

The Hospital is also now home to the State’s most technologically advanced operating theatres. This world leading robotic technology uses voice-activated commands and connects all equipment within the operating theatre and to other departments in the Hospital.

In addition to the official opening, the Hospital also unveiled a veteran memorial sculpture today that honours the Hospital’s tradition of caring for, and ongoing commitment to, the ex-service community. The sculpture, commissioned by Greenslopes Private Hospital and Ramsay Health Care, represents the themes of compassion, mateship, remembrance, service and sacrifice shared amongst all Australian veterans.

The Hospital also paid tribute to two significant Queensland war heroes, naming two wings on campus after Corporal John Alexander French, the first Queensland Victoria Cross recipient in World War II, and Jessie Mary Vasey, CBE, born in Roma and the founder of the War Widows Guild.