MercyAscot Hospital Announces New Alliance

MercyAscot Hospital Announces New Alliance With Auckland University's Faculty Of Medical And Health Sciences

Friday 12 July, 2002

New Zealand's largest private hospital is planning Auckland's first private sector medical research and training partnership with the University of Auckland's Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences.

MercyAscot is investigating the provision of training and research for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as part of an alliance with the University along the lines of leading international medical partnerships.

The announcement was made today during a visit to the hospital by the Governor General, the Honourable Dame Silvia Cartwright. Dame Silvia visited the hospital as part of the celebrations to introduce its new logo and organisational values.

The alliance with the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences would mean two units would be relocated to the Mercy site of MercyAscot - the Surgical Skills Training Unit from Greenlane Hospital and the Department of Anaesthesia from Auckland Medical School. The Faculty also plans to appoint a senior lecturer in Gastro-Intestinal Surgery who will be based at the Mercy site.

These initiatives will make MercyAscot an important training facility for the undergraduate medical programme, and see post-graduate clinical skills training programmes provided from purpose-built facilities at the Mercy site of MercyAscot.

Dr Richard Fisher, MercyAscot Chairman, says these initiatives highlight the advantages to healthcare that can be gained from combining the strengths of the Mercy and Ascot hospitals.

"MercyAscot has now reached critical mass in the private sector, following the joining of Mercy and Ascot hospitals in December last year. As the largest single provider of private surgical health services in New Zealand, we are now a true centre of excellence not only in terms of the quality of our surgical service but also the support that is achieved through teaching and research."

Professor Peter Smith, Dean - Faculty of Medicine, says that the alliance with MercyAscot will give students access to leading edge facilities and research.

"Once we looked excusively to the public sector to give students practical, clinical experiences, but now we're looking more widely. Elective surgery is increasingly being performed in private hospitals and MercyAscot is performing a lot of complex procedures. We want to give our undergraduate students access to that experience."

"The clinical skills initiative is an example of health professionals, educators and providers working together to offer first-class, practical skills training to working health professionals. The new training facility planned for Mercy Hospital will enable us to expand our reach in this rapidly-growing area of medical education."

Dr Fisher says that the alliance with the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences is further evidence of the spirit of cooperation that exists between the public and private sectors.

MercyAscot is New Zealand's largest private hospital, established following the acquisition of Mercy Hospital by Ascot Hospital in 2001. MercyAscot provides comprehensive surgical and medical services, with 19 operating theatres and 180 beds across its two sites.

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