Peter Dutton critical of ACT government's Calvary Public Hospital Bruce takeover

Mr Dutton said he was "shocked" by the proposal, calling it an "attack on religion".

"I'm just not aware of an action like it elsewhere in the country or, frankly, around the world, where a government has taken a decision based on their opposition to a religion, or to compulsorily acquire a hospital in these circumstances, a facility that's working well, and in the greater public interest, and good in a local community, and just for ideological reasons," he said on 2CC.

"I think it's quite remarkable, and I think it's regrettable, and I hope the Chief Minister can see past the advice and reverse the decision."

ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith responded: "The ACT government has been very clear this decision was not based on religious reasons."

Mr Dutton's attack on the policy of the ACT government followed an intervention by one of his predecessors as Liberal leader.

On Thursday, former prime minister Tony Abbott labelled the ACT government "overbearing and arrogant".

"What on earth is happening to our country when a perfectly well-run hospital can be nationalised at whim without discussion and without any real notice?" he posted on Twitter.

"Quite apart from being evidence of overbearing and arrogant government this looks like yet another assault on the Church."

The politicians were not alone in their condemnation.

One of Canberra's most prominent doctors was scathing in his attack on what he perceived as the managerial record at Canberra Hospital, which the ACT government runs.

Dr Paul Burt, former head of the anaesthetics departments at both Canberra Hospital and Calvary public hospital, accused the ACT government of "dubious managerial competence" in its management of the health service it currently runs.

"It's had problems in cardiology, obstetrics, intensive care, paediatrics, plastic surgery, just to name a few," he said.

"We would be handing over the management of Calvary hospital to an organisation that can't organise its own hospital."

He said two public hospitals in Canberra run by the same governmental organisation would turn the ACT government into a monopoly provider.

Dr Burt is a Catholic but said he was speaking out as a doctor of high repute. "If I was an atheist, I would like Calvary to stay functional so I had an alternative to Canberra Hospital," he said.

In response, Ms Stephen-Smith said: "The ACT government made this decision because we believe a single network health system is the best option for the territory."

She said by integrating the territory's health service, there would be a more efficient and more innovative service to the benefit of the whole community.

And she rejected the criticism of the record of Canberra Hospital and the rest of the government-run health service.

"Canberra Health Services has a proud history of delivering safe, quality, person-centred care to our community, and has extensive experience running a broad range of interconnected services for people across the territory and surrounding southern NSW region," she said.

"This experience and expertise makes Canberra Health Services best-suited to operate the northside hospital as part of its network of public health services."

The health minister also contested the idea the decision to take over Calvary had come out of the blue.

In an opinion piece for The Canberra Times, she said the government had warned Calvary last year compulsory acquisition was an option if negotiations failed.

"Recognising that an agreed sale of Calvary-owned land would require agreement from the Vatican, the government also advised Calvary in April 2022 that it would consider legislating to acquire the land if necessary," she said.

"Ultimately, no agreement could be reached, and the government needed to make a decision in the long-term best interests of Canberrans."

But the account is disputed.

Calvary executives have said previously the decision was "unexpected". They say the organisation was only told on Monday about the decision to compulsorily acquire the hospital. The chief executive of Calvary Health Care (Australia), Martin Bowles, said he had not heard from the government in nearly six months before that.

Dr Burt's annoyance at the ACT government was not assuaged by Ms Stephen-Smith's comments.

He said some top hospitals in Sydney and Melbourne, with global reputations, were run by Catholic organisations, and these, he said, were recognised as far better than Canberra Hospital under the ACT government.

He had barely a good word to say about the government in general. "ACT Health is just like a local council. They've got grand ideas but they are just a local council," he said.

"I think they are verging on being utterly indifferent to the public view. If they want to do something, they just do it."

Dr Burt has had run-ins with the ACT government in the past.

He was particularly annoyed at what he viewed as its long-running failure to introduce effective systems to monitor rigorously managerial and medical performance.

On top of that, doctors working at Calvary Public Hospital were "shocked" to hear about the takeover, the head of Canberra's peak body for doctors said.

The announcement was "out of the blue", the president of the Australian Medical Association in the ACT said.

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"AMA has certainly received many recent contacts from members and non-members who have expressed concern about the process," Walter Abhayaratna said.

"We were only told [on Tuesday] at 11 o'clock, so it is a very sudden announcement."

Prof Abhayaratna added doctors had raised concerns about Canberra Health Services' management.

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