Sunshine Private Hospital, a world class private hospital, opens its doors in Melbourne’s West
A state-of-the-art 51 bed private hospital located within Sunshine’s Health Wellbeing and Education precinct has today opened its doors to residents of Melbourne’s west.
Officially opened by the Hon Natalie Suleyman, State Member for St Albans and Minister for Veterans, Minister for Youth and Minister for Small Business, Sunshine Private Hospital provides Melbourne’s western suburbs with much needed private health facilities.
The hospital’s features include four operating theatres, an endoscopy suite, a 30-bed medical and surgical ward including high dependency beds, a 21-bed women’s mental health inpatient unit, mental health outpatient services, consulting suites and sleep study facilities. It is Australia’s first fully electric private hospital, with a five-star Green Star rating.
The $140 million hospital is owned by Australian Unity’s $3.8 billion Healthcare Property Trust. Construction of the hospital commenced in April 2021.
The hospital is operated by Unitas Healthcare as its major tenant under a 30-year lease. It is also home to leading health services including Capital Radiology, Fresenius Dialysis services, Royal Children’s Hospital, Monash IVF and Melbourne Pathology.
In the long term, Sunshine Private Hospital is expected to undergo further expansion that will increase both inpatient bed count and operating theatres to grow with local demand and changing patient healthcare needs over time.
Dr Malak Sukkar, CEO Unitas Healthcare, said Sunshine Private Hospital will transform healthcare delivery in Melbourne’s west and greatly improve outcomes for women.
“With the population of Melbourne’s west booming and set to gain more than half a million new residents by 20361 , it’s clear that specialist medical and surgical services are urgently needed to meet community needs and ensure patients are not travelling excessive distances for care.
“It’s a monumental day for healthcare in the west as we join Sunshine’s Health Wellbeing and Education Precinct and deliver excellent patient outcomes to local residents. We are also proud to play a role in supporting women of the west for years to come with bespoke services, including women’s mental health.”
Chris Smith, General Manager Healthcare Property at Australian Unity said the hospital’s facilities will deliver vital health infrastructure for Melbourne’s west and long-term value to investors in Australian Unity’s Healthcare Property Trust.
“Australian Unity is proud to partner with Unitas Healthcare in the delivery and operation of this state-of-the-art private hospital. Its delivery represents a win-win for local residents, clinicians in the west and investors, who will benefit from the 30-year lease signed with Unitas.
“With a large parcel of surrounding land owned by the Australian Unity Healthcare Property Trust, the years ahead will be exciting as we seek further opportunities to develop the site and expand Sunshine Private Hospital’s facilities with the growth and shifting needs of the community.
1P.13 Victoria in Future 2019, Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, 2019.
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About Unitas Healthcare
Unitas Healthcare is a Melbourne-based healthcare company established to operate a portfolio of healthcare assets throughout Australia. Unitas Healthcare is committed to providing our patients with the highest standard of care. The first healthcare asset in the Unitas Healthcare portfolio is the new Sunshine Private Hospital.
About Australian Unity
Established in 1840, Australian Unity is a member-owned wellbeing company with 400,000 members and more than 700,000 customers. Our range of health, wealth and care products and services provides member, customer and community value that is supportive of personal and community wellbeing.
About Australian Unity Healthcare Property Trust
Australian Unity's $3.8 billion Healthcare Property Trust was launched in 1999 and has grown to become one of Australia’s largest and most successful unlisted property funds. The Trust currently owns a portfolio of 100 quality assets, including hospitals, medical clinics, aged-care properties, day surgeries, medical offices, consulting rooms, rehabilitation units, radiology, and pathology centres.
The Trust’s objective is to provide investors with regular income and the potential for longer-term capital growth. The Trust’s wholesale units produced a 5.99% total return over one year, 18.50% pa over three years and 14.68% pa over five years, as at 28 February 2023. Returns are calculated after fees and expenses and assume the reinvestment of distributions. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. The Trust’s Weighted Average Lease Expiry at 31 December 2022 was 16.4 years and its portfolio occupancy was 98.78%.