Currently there are nine Community (health) Trusts that have formed a company. It has evolved over the last four years from collegial discussions through a memorandum of understanding and subsequently the legal formation of a company in November 2015.

 

The respective Trusts are the shareholders and the senior managers of each Trust are the Directors of the company.

 

 

The primary objective of the company is to foster cooperation between the Shareholders, being non-religious community affiliated healthcare trusts predominately with aged care facilities and all being registered charities under the Charities Act 2005, as they work together in a multitude of dimensions for the ultimate benefit of the healthcare consumer in their communities and to achieve the charitable purposes of each of the Shareholder trusts.

The initial focus was to secure purchasing agreements with companies through economies of scale and this has proved to be very successful with a range of supplies. These arrangements provide either discounts or rebates.

We have negotiated service agreements for activities such as auditing, compliance of equipment, sharing IT for some Trusts and working towards establishing many other appropriate supports.
Collegial support has been immeasurable and educational opportunities are actively pursued, such as contracted health care professionals.

At the corporate level both the shareholders and the company have taken opportunities to develop and have a greater shared understanding of managing the challenges of future focused organisations.