PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IN HEALTHCARE IS A NECESSITY IN DIFFICULT TIMES: A CASE STUDY

Abstract

Healthcare delivery is a risky enterprise for both public and private systems which may face adversity in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world. There has been a global emergence of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) hospitals to enhance delivery of sustainable healthcare, although its existence in developing countries remains limited. Risk management strongly influences PPP success; few PPP hospitals were able to meet contractually specified quality and performance requirements, creating debate regarding merits of the PPP model. Conversely, we present a case study of the first PPP hospital operated by not-for-profit organisation in New South Wales, Australia, to successfully complete the contract period. A Continuous Quality and Performance Improvement Framework was applied at five stages of organisational growth during the contract term. This case study demonstrates adaptive leadership and just organisational culture are equally important in providing high quality healthcare services to the community. We show the future potential of PPP model for service delivery as a third option to pure public or private sector hospitals, even in the post COVID-19 era when there is likelihood of financial instability in many settings.