Canberra's northside acute public hospital and Clare Holland House hospice operations in Australia have transitioned to Canberra Health Services, creating an integrated public hospital system in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

Formerly known as Calvary Public Hospital Bruce, the hospital will now be called North Canberra Hospital.

Its services will remain the same while its staff will also be retained.

The consolidation of services aims to enhance coordination, resource allocation, and hospital load distribution, ultimately benefiting all aspects of Canberra's public healthcare, including maternity, paediatric, and emergency services.

This transition has involved the employment transfer of 1,781 employees, including the entire executive team.

Canberra Health Services CEO Dave Peffer said: “Today marks an important day for health care in the ACT, the biggest change we’ve seen in a decade.

At the right time, we’ll begin working with teams from both sides of the lake to determine how we can create a truly networked hospital system for the Territory – delivering the best care we can for Canberrans.

“I’m looking forward to working alongside our newest team members as they continue to provide great care for our community.”

Canberra Health Services is committed to minimising disruption and providing support to staff, patients, and visitors during this transition period.

North Canberra Hospital general manager Elaine Pretorius said: “We will continue to honour the hospital’s proud history by focusing on the care and wellbeing of our patients, their family and our community.

“I look forward to working with our team as we embark on an exciting future for public health services in the ACT.”