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Aspen Medical is a privately owned Australian-based health service company with operations in Australia and internationally.[1] The company headquarters are in Canberra with offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, and international offices in Washington, D.C., Abu Dhabi and Port Moresby.[2] In the 2021-2022 financial year, the company recorded a total turnover of A$311,626,612, with taxable income of A$40,743,671, and paid A$11,945,466 corporate tax.[3] In 2018, Aspen Medical was recognized as the Australian Exporter of the Year, and in 2021 was inducted into the Australian Export Hall of Fame.[4]
Aspen Medical was established in 2003 by Glenn Keys AO and Dr Andrew Walker.[5] Its initial work involved reviewing the delivery of orthopedic services under the Blair Governments' National Health Service Reforms and reducing waiting lists for orthopedic, urological and cataract surgery in the UK and Northern Ireland.[6][7] Subsequently, the firm medically supported the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands to stabilize the Solomon Islands after its civil collapse,[6] and assisted the Australian-led international Military MissiontoEast Timor, which included saving President Jose Ramos Horta's life after an assassination attempt.[6]
In 2005, the company was awarded a contract to provide health services to Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel at Puckapunyal Military Area. This was followed by a similar contract at the ADF base at Albury Wodonga Military Area in 2007.[8]
Aspen Medical has worked in remote areas in Australia through: developing the Western Australia Resources Aero Medical Evacuation for seven oil and gas companies working in the North West Shelf off WA;[9] establishing the Remote Area Health Corps to provide Primary Health Care to remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory in 2008;[10] supporting an existing joint venture between CareFlight and Pel-Air to provide air ambulance services out of Darwin International Airport and, since 2011 administering the Australian Government's Nursing and Allied Health Rural Locum Scheme (NAHRLS). This scheme provides short term locum staff to rural and remote locations in Australia to relieve permanent residential staff undertaking professional development or taking leave.[11] In 2016, NAHRLS was amalgamated with the Rural Obstetric and Anaesthetic Locum Scheme (ROALS) and the Rural Locum Education Assistance Program (Rural LEAP) and was subsequently renamed the Rural Locum Assistance Program (Rural LAP).[12] In 2022, the program was expanded by the Australian Government to provide support to eligible aged care services in rural and remote Australia.[13]
Between 2012 and 2016, the firm provided sub-contracted medical services with approximately 1000 staff at over fifty Defence sites Australia-wide.[14] [15] At that time, it was the largest services tender for healthcare professionals conducted by the ADF Joint Health Command. The company was also delivering 'Care of Battle Casualty' first aid training to ADF personnel deploying to the Middle East.[16]
In 2013, Aspen Medical employed more than 2000 staff and had a turnover of around $163,000,000 AUD.[17]
Dr Andrew Walker exited the company in late 2019.[18] Glenn Keys' family trust bought out Dr Walker several weeks before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Walker received an undisclosed sum for his shareholding and full control of several of the company's subsidiaries.[19]
In January 2019, Aspen Medical signed a 23-year Public Private Partnership (PPP) with the Fiji Government to manage and develop the public hospitals at Ba and Lautoka.[20] [21] Health Care (Fiji) Pte Limited, a joint venture company between Aspen Medical and the Fiji National Provident Fund, commenced operations at the hospitals in April 2022.[22]
In June 2023, Sanusa Medika Hospitals, a joint venture majority-owned by Aspen Medical and Docta, a company owned by Australian physician Dr Andrew Rochford, began construction of a 200-bed hospital in Depok, West Java.[23]
In 2004, Aspen Medical was contracted to deliver healthcare services, including a hospital, to RAMSI personnel and Australian Government employees in Solomon Islands. The facility, situated at Guadalcanal Beach Resort (GBR) near Honiara, featured a 10-bed ward, pharmacy, dental and pathology services, environmental health, administration, and storage. Aspen Medical also conducted aero-medical evacuations and operated a mobile surgical unit with radiology, an operating room, and an intensive care/recovery unit.[24]
In 2006, Aspen Medical was contracted by PDL Toll, the prime contractor, to support the Australian Defence Force in Timor-Leste. Aspen Medical designed the healthcare facility and provided all staff. The company provided primary healthcare, radiology, pathology, dental, emergency care and surgery.[25][7]
Aspen Medical managed the Australian Government's response to the Ebola virus disease (EVD). This response involved commissioning and managing a 100-bed Ebola Treatment Centre (ETC), constructed by the UK Government in Sierra Leone. Aspen Medical managed the ETC from December 2014 to April 2015.
The Sierra Leone ETC admitted 216 patients. In addition to the Ebola survivors, the ETC contributed to the treatment of 120 survivors of serious conditions other than Ebola.[26]
In March 2017, Aspen Medical was contracted by the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide healthcare professionals and hospital management, including maternity services, at 48-bed field hospital south of Mosul in northern Iraq during fighting between ISIS and the Iraqi Army.[27] [28]
A further two field trauma hospitals and maternity units opened over the following months around Mosul. The facilities saw 47,890 patients and 2,997 babies born.[29]
In January 2020, Aspen Medical managed infection prevention and control for the first repatriation flights back to Australia from Wuhan in China. Early in the pandemic, the company also managed the first round of hotel quarantine at the Swissotel in Sydney. The Japanese Ministry of Health contracted Aspen Medical to manage the quarantine of the crew on the Diamond Princess cruise liner when it docked in Yokohama. The company also managed quarantine on the Grand Princess when it anchored in San Francisco Bay.[19][30]
In March 2020, the Australian Government Department of Health launched an online infection prevention and control training portal with the assistance of Aspen Medical.[31] The training took approximately 30 minutes to complete with a quiz at the end and was aimed primarily at health professionals and allied health workers, those working in aged care, childcare, and disability settings.[32] On 11 March 2020, the Australian Government announced a A$2.4 billion plan to protect all Australians from COVID-19, with the package providing support across primary care, aged care, hospitals, research and the national medical stockpile.[33] The plan provided for a national network of up to 100 GP-led respiratory clinics. Aspen Medical was contracted to oversee the building of the pop-up respiratory clinics.[34] The first GP-led respiratory clinics opened on 21 March 2020 at Macquarie Park in Sydney and Morayfield in Brisbane.[35] The 100th pop-up clinic opened on 13 May 2020 in Mudgee, New South Wales.[36]
In March 2020, Aspen Medical secured four contracts from the Australian Government, totaling A$1.1 billion, to procure medical supplies for the National Medical Stockpile.[19]
On 2 April 2020, an Aspen Medical team contracted by Australian Border Force boarded the Ruby Princess cruise ship to conduct a medical assessment of the crew following a much-publicized COVID-19 outbreak on the ship.[37] The ship then sailed to Port Kembla on the south coast of New South Wales arriving on 6 April 2022. An Aspen Medical team, led by former WHO pandemic expert Dr Ian Norton, assessed the health of the ship's 1040 crew members, conducted COVID-19 testing and implemented infection prevention and control protocols onboard.[38][39] The ship sailed from Port Kembla on 16 April 2020.[40]
In April 2020, Aspen Medical was contracted by the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government to design and build a temporary hospital in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[41] Known as the Garran Surge Centre, the facility was located on Garran Oval, a sports field to the northeast of the existing Canberra Hospital campus.[42] On 21 May 2020, the hospital was opened after only 37 days of construction.[43] Shortly after, on 24 May 2020, ACT health authorities announced the hospital would likely remain unused due to the successful prevention of a major outbreak in the ACT.[44] The facility was never used for its intended purpose as a respiratory intensive care unit but was instead repurposed as a COVID-19 testing and assessment center,[45] and later as a vaccination hub.[46]
on 13 April 2020, the Australian Government announced that Aspen Medical had been "engaged to deploy the emergency response teams immediately to an aged care facility if a significant outbreak occurs".[47] Shortly after the announcement, Aspen Medical sent a team to Newmarch House in the Nepean Valley where an outbreak of COVID-19 had begun on 11 April 2020.[48] Media attention focused on two members of the Aspen Medical team sent to Newmarch House who had previously been on board the Ruby Princess whilst it was docked in Port Kembla.[48] Aspen Medical said in a statement that "both of the workers who had boarded the Ruby Princess tested negative for Covid-19 before being deployed to the aged-care home".[48] NSW Government's Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant confirmed in a press conference held on 6 May 2020 that Aspen Medical's team was not the source of any transmission of the virus at the Newmarch House residential aged care facility.[49] In July 2020, Aspen Medical was requested to send a surge team to another high-profile outbreak at the Fawkner location of St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Victoria.[50] Media reporting suggested that the company was taking over the management of the facility. Aspen Medical clarified its role as a provider of last resort and one of over 20 companies assisting at St Basil’s and was not managing the facility.[51] An inquest into deaths at the facility began in November 2021.[52] The chair of St Basil’s Kon Kontis and the facility manager Vicky Kos refused to give evidence on the basis that they could incriminate themselves. Kontis and Kos lost their appeal against giving evidence in the Court of Appeal in December 2022, with the court upholding the decision reached in the Supreme Court of Victoria in August 2022.[53]
On 21 January 2021, the Australian Government announced that Aspen Medical, along with other healthcare providers, had been appointed to provide a vaccine workforce to supplement the existing immunization workforce for specific vulnerable groups across Australia.[54] Logistics and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine was contracted to DHL Supply Chain and Linfox by the Australian Government.[55]
In May 2022, Aspen Medical featured on the ABC's program Four Corners.[56][57] A segment in the episode alleged the company's involvement in financial misconduct whilst acting as a sub-contractor to EN-Projects, the prime contractor for the construction of Hambantota General Hospital, during the presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2012. The transaction in question was a payment made to Sabre Vision Holdings, owned by Nimal Perera, a Sri Lankan businessman who also has close ties with the Rajapaksa family. Perera has since served legal notice of a defamation case to the ABC for the accusations.[58]
Shortly after the Four Corners episode aired, Aspen Medical issued a media release in response to the allegation which attempted to clarify the nature of their work in Sri Lanka. Aspen Medical stated that the delivery of services in Sri Lanka was verified, and the payments authorized by EN-Projects.[51]The document released by Aspen Medical provides links to their standards and policies including; Aspen Medical's WHO accreditation, external audits, International Operating Standards, and their Corporate Social Responsibility outline. Aspen Medical maintains that they are "strongly against corruption or corrupt practices wherever we work in the world" and that it had not been involved in any international money laundering investigation arising from its involvement in the Hambantota General Hospital project. On 1 February 2024, Aspen Medical issued an updated statement in relation to the Four Corners episode stating that "Allegations made by the ABC progam Four Corners on 2 May 2022 have been thoroughly investigated by numerous national and international government bodies with no findings against Aspen Medical Pty Limited."[59]
Aspen Medical has been operating in the United Arab Emirates since 2003. In August 2022, Aspen Medical opened one of six planned primary health centers in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The rural primary health centers are jointly operated in coordination with the Department of Health (Abu Dhabi) as part of governmental plans to expand primary health care in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.[60]
The Lautoka Hospital and Ba Sub-acute Hospital, serving Fiji's Western Division, collectively offer 400 inpatient beds for approximately 365,000 people. Services encompass general medicine, surgery, comprehensive maternity services outpatient care, intensive care, coronary care, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), paediatric intensive care unit (PICU), emergency services, pharmacy, pathology, and radiography.[61]
Under Aspen Medical's management, new services include cardiothoracic surgery, expanded critical care services and oncology, digital medical imaging and pathology, along with enhanced diabetes services. Notable additions involve open-heart surgeries, advanced imaging modalities like CT and MRI and upgraded facilities for diabetes management and mammography. [62][63][64]
In January 2024, day surgeries recommenced at Ba Hospital after a one-year hiatus attributed largely to staffing challenges.[65]
Sanusa Medika Hospitals, a joint venture majority-owned by Aspen Medical and Dr Andrew Rochford's Docta Pty Limited, began construction of a 200-bed hospital in Depok, West Java in June 2023. The hospital is the first of a planned 23 hospitals and 650 community clinics by the joint venture, which also includes Indonesian state-owned enterprise PT Jasa Sarana, which has a 10% stake in the joint venture company.[23]
Designed by Emerald Hospital Design, a joint venture between Deerns Groep B.V., Dutch Health Architects B.V. and PT Teamworx Indonesia, the Aspen Medical International Hospital Depok is expected to cost between A$60 million and A$75 million to build. The hospital is expected to open in 2025 and will include International Institute for Diabetes, in addition to housing centers for nephrology, hypertension and endocrinology.[23][66][67]
Aspen Medical has received numerous awards for their work as an industry service provider including:[68][69]
Diversity Council Australia Inclusive Employer
Financial Review Best Places to Work List Honoree
Financial Review Best Places to Work List Honoree
National Export Hall of Fame Inductee
Financial Review Best Places to Work List Honoree
International Project Management Association Silver Medal for the Canberra COVID-19 Surge Facility
B Lab Best for The World - Customers Category
Australian Export Awards - Australian Exporter of the Year
Australian Export Awards - Health & Biotechnology Category Winner
ACT Chief Minister's Exporter of the Year Health & Biotechnology Category Winner
B Lab Best for the World - Customers Category
International Stability Operations Association (ISOA) Vanguard Award for Mission to Mosul
ACT Chief Minister's Exporter of the Year Overall Winner
ACT Chief Minister's Exporter of the Year Health & Biotechnology Category Winner
International Stability Operations Association (ISOA) Vanguard Award for Ebola Response in West Africa
International Project Management Association Gold Medal for Ebola Response in West Africa
EY Entrepreneur of the Year - National Winner
EY Entrepreneur of the Year - Services Category
University of Newcastle Alumni Award - National Leadership
ACT Chief Minister's Exporter of the Year Health & Biotechnology Category Winner
Australian Institute of Management - Community Leader of the Year
EY Entrepreneur of the Year - Eastern Region Winner
BRW Aspire Private Business Growth & Transformation Category Winner ($100 Million +)
APFPM Internationally Funded Humanitarian Aid Project of the Year Winner
ACT Chief Minister's Exporter of the Year Winner
ACT Chief Minister's Export Awards Health & Biotechnology Category Winner
Concur Client Innovation Award Winner (Australia and New Zealand)
AIPM Internationally Funded Humanitarian Aid Project of the Year (National Winner)
AIPM (ACT Chapter) Project of the Year Winner
AIPM (ACT Chapter) Internationally Funded Humanitarian Aid Projects Category Winner
HRD magazine Employer of Choice
Export Council of Australia - Export Hero
ACT Chief Minister's Export Awards - Biotechnology & Health Category Winner
EY Entrepreneur of the Year Global Hall of Fame
Australian Anthill Smart 100
Australian Export Awards - Biotechnology & Health Category Winner
Adelaide Research & Innovation - Innovation Champion Award (Winner)
ACT Chief Minister's Exporter of the Year Award (Overall Winner)
ACT Chief Minister's Export Awards - Biotechnology & Health Category Winner
ACT Chief Minister's Exporter of the Year Award (Overall Winner)
ACT Chief Minister's Export Awards – Large Services Category Winner
Australian Institute of Project Management's ACT Chapter's Regional Development Award
ACT & SE NSW – Defence Reserves Support Council, Private Sector Employer of the Year Award
ACT Chief Minister's Exporter Hall of Fame Award
National Exporter of the Year - Small to Medium Business Category Winner
ACT Chief Minister's Exporter of the Year Award (Overall Winner)
Winner ACT Chief Minister's Inclusion Awards
BRW's Most Successful Private Company in Australia (turnover under $100M)
iAward Regional Winner – e-Health Division
PriceWaterhouseCoopers Antill Magazine Cool Company Awards
ACT Chief Minister's Export Awards - Services Category Winner
ACT Chief Minister's Exporter of the Year Award (Overall Winner)
BRW Fastest Growing SME under $100M
Entrepreneur of the Year
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