Healthy year for St John of God

St John of God chief executive Bryan Pyne. (Supplied)

St John of God Health Care has listed growth in community services, a rise in patient care numbers and strong progress towards environmental targets as highlights for the year, according to their 2024 annual report.

In the 2023-24 year, St John of God Health Care:

* Generated more than $2 billion of revenue, a seven per cent increase on 2022-23;

* Treated 402,054 overnight and same day patients at our hospitals and services, a rise of almost 30,000 on the previous year;

* Delivered 68,641 at-home patient services in Victoria and Western Australia

* Recorded an exceptional Patient Net Promoter Score of 80.3 for our acute hospitals;

* Provided close to 19,000 community mental health care visits and handled more than 18,000 admissions for mental health services; and

* Delivered $30.3 million in free or low-cost community services and social justice outreach initiatives, an increase of more than $1 million on the previous year.

St John of God chief executive Bryan Pyne said while there were significant difficulties facing the Australian private health care sector, he anticipated a positive future.

“We’ve been navigating a challenging landscape of regulatory shifts, rising costs and fluctuating patient demand for several years but we are resolute in our commitment to deliver outstanding care and clinical excellence,“ he said.

“We are pleased to have generated more than $2 billion in revenue, which reflects our resilience and reinforces our path toward sustainable success but our margins remain challenging.

“We are responding to pressures on health care funding by leaning into change and aligning resources to streamline service delivery across the organisation.“

Mr Pyne said environmental sustainability remained a key focus for the group, with a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and a minimum 50 per cent cut by 2030.

“In March, we were the first in the Australian private health sector to stop using anesthetic agent desflurane across our 17 hospitals,” he said.

“Working with anesthetists, we made the switch to alternatives with no adverse effect on patient care and an expected reduction in emissions of 260 tons annually.”

Mr Pyne said people remained central to all aspects of St John of God’s service provision.

“Health and wellbeing are always a focus and we have are pleased with the success of our safety and people risk reduction programs and proud of our success in building and retaining exceptional talent,“ he said.

“This year we also proudly endorsed our 2024-2026 Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan, which focuses on closing the gap in health outcomes for Aboriginal people and enhancing their employment opportunities in the communities we serve.

“The achievements of the past year have laid the foundation for our new St John of God Health Care strategy which we are planning to launch in 2025.“