Public-Private Partnership: Midland Health Campus Project Assessment Answer

Answer :

Title: Public-Private Partnership Project (Part C)

Sub Title: Midland Health Campus Project

Words: 2000

Reference: APA

Introduction 

Kerzner and Kerzner (2017) commented that the process of managing a project requires the assessment of the challenges and developing the goals. The present report deals with the evaluation of the Midland Health Campus Project which was a private-public partnership. The prime objective of the project was to develop a significant greenfield site for building a public hospital that would provide healthcare service to people in need. The new campus has 300 beds for the public and other 60 private beds. However, the project was not smooth and encountered different challenges (Midland Health, 2019). This report would identify the original problems which were associated with the project and followed by a stakeholder analysis to evaluate their contribution and also assess the impact of the project on them. Finally, the report would also discuss the funding models which were followed in the project along with the financial arrangement which was made.           

Classification and Evaluation of Key Challenges

Davies, Gann and Douglas (2009) commented that the success of the projects is often determined by factors like time, cost, quality, safety and other revenue forecasts. All the high-cost plans encounter challenges, and so is the case with the Midland Health Campus Project. The identification and evaluation of the problems would help to develop strategies for the successful completion of the next project. Davies, Gann and Douglas (2009) identified the six processes for the identification of the challenges within the organisation. In the given case study, the main challenges which the project managers encountered were related to the meeting of the budget. However, there were several other barriers which were associated with the project, and they are discussed in this section. 

The project can be divided into six, and they are system integration, project and the program management, single-model environment, modular-assemblies, just-in-time logistics and test and training.  This process helps in the better identification of the issues associated with the project. In the Midland Health Campus Project, issues were not involved in all the processes but it included specific challenges as discussed here:

1. Variation in design construction and pre-existing contamination: The first process is called the system integration that involved the design and collaborative activities. Two significant issues have been considered in this case by the state government. The risks were explicitly related to the Public facility and the shared infrastructure. The contamination issues and the variation of the design were unable to meet the acceptance criteria which were defined before. The risks which were associated in this case were unearthing of the artefacts, native title and the heritage claims that have created an issue in the construction of the healthcare (State of Western Australia, 2015). 

However, the challenges were overcome under the successful application of the leadership strategy. The state was the prime leader in the project, and it was responsible for offering some relief related to these issues. Hence the State made the operator obtain approval from Licensing and Accreditation Review Unit (LARU) which was developed under the Hospitals and Health Service Act 1927 (WA) (State of Western Australia, 2015). 

1. Issues in offering private patient facility:  The Midland Health Campus Project was developed to offer 30 individual bed faculties. However, the primary management issue that was encountered in this case was obtaining the licence. The Operator has to acquire Private Hospital License to offer the service to private patients. The prime reason for the same was that the operator was not able to offer assurance regarding the non-interference with the service offered by the public patient health care campus (Government of Western Australia, 2012). However, the operator was encountering issues related to the effective delivery of the service to the patients of the private beds 

This issue was significantly handled by the active leaders of the project. The State and the private owners ensure that there is no improper rearrangement of the patients is undertaken from the private to the public facility. This approach has helped to maintain the camp and also obtain the Private Hospital License as per the rules established by the government of Australia (State of Western Australia, 2015). The leadership strategies applied in the project has ensured that the operator carries out all the necessary activities to make the Private Patient Facility a successful one and it can provide the required services when needed.  

1. The absence of digital prototyping: The model selected in the process of the project development has not followed digital prototyping and not 3D or 4D model was developed. The design was developed to obtain a value for money. The absence of digital prototyping created issues for the operators as the construction was offered to the third party contractors. However, a proper plan was created that would have eased out the process. Improper application of digital technology has created issues regarding the design as well as for the budget (Government of Western Australia, 2012). 

The application of effective leadership strategies has helped to create distinct civic development that would help to offer the best experience to the patients. The state has relied on the distinct design and the third part operators for the design. A proper plan was developed; however, the particular technology was not applied in the process.     

 Considering the challenges, specific opportunities that were available for Midland Health Campus Project and can be used for the next projects of health campus developments are listed below: 

1. Using digital technology for construction: The different challenges of projects under the public-private partnership can be overcome with the proper use of digital technologies. The first problem which arose, in this case, was related to the variation in the design. However, the utilisation of the digital technology for prototyping and visualising the design and the construction can prevent all sorts of variation and help to make the project a successful one (Turkan, Bosche, Haas & Haas, 2012). 
2. Using Project How Software: The Midland Health Campus Project included both public health care and private health care services. However, issues arose related to offering the facility to the patients without interfering in any of the services. In this case, the usage of the Project How software can be used for the effective management of the entire project (Ahmed, 2016). This software would have allowed Midland Health Campus Project to overcome the varied challenges.   

Stakeholder Analysis 

Amadi, Carrillo & Tuuli, (2014) commented that stakeholders are the individuals who are involved in the project or are directly or indirectly affected by the project. The stakeholders include the clients, government bodies, designers, suppliers and even the general public. Thus, it is essential for managing and involving the stakeholders in the early life cycle of the project. Midland Health Campus Project also had significant stakeholders who are directly or indirectly associated with the project and are impacted by the same.      

Table 1; Stakeholder Analysis

(Source: Midland Health Campus, 2019)

The case study of the Midland Health Campus Project can highlight a significant attributed the public-private partnership. The case study has shown an active collaboration between the public and the private hospitals with the current health service providers for offering a unique health service for the people. The Midland public Hospital was an essential part in the entire project as it was responsible for developing undergraduate and post grade teaching and training to carry out the adequate supply and maintenance of the quality and sustainability of the health workforce (Government of Western Australia, 2012). The partnership was created based on the provision of the National Partnership Agreement on the Health Infrastructure, and the entire project was done under the agreement.

The needs and the wants of the different stakeholders were addressed with the application of effective strategies. The need of the Commonwealth government was fulfilled by following the goals and the objectives of the projects. The Code of Practice was followed while carrying out the transaction (State of Western Australia, 2015). 

The need for Western Australia was fulfilled by including Health and Hospital Fund and the entire project funded for the vital infrastructure programs and helped in making successful progress towards the attainment of the health reform targets. The needs of the operators were met undertaking strategic investment in the project. The Design, Build, Operate and Maintain (DBOM) model was developed by the private sector that helped the operator to maintain the result of the project from start to finish (Government of Western Australia, 2012). The needs of the suppliers were met by offering them the best prices for the services offered by them. Finally, the needs of the public were met by ensuring quality health care service even under emergency.    

Funding Model and Financial Arrangements

Funding is the most critical aspect of any project. Marchewka (2014) opined that the absence of proper funds could be a significant reason for restricting the timely delivery of the projects. Since the Midland Health Campus Project followed a public-private partnership model, so the authority was accepting funds from the local authorities. Western Australia was responsible for ensuring the funding of the projects after carrying out accounting for the financial contributions from a third party as well as Commonwealth. Western Australia allocated the funding of the project to the Health and Hospital Fund (HHF) (Midland Health Campus, 2019). The funding objective was to invest money in developing infrastructure that would help in attaining the goals of the Commonwealth. Furthermore, the funding model was designed for strategic investment in the health system which will help in underpinning the significant improvement in the health care service.

Initially, the project was encountering challenges related to the meeting of the budget. The total budget of the project was AU$360.2 million. After considering the budget of the project, it was quite tricky for Western Australia to pay back the amount to Commonwealth in case the actual cost is lower than the designed budget of the Midland Health Campus Project (Midland Health Campus, 2019). While developing the budgets, the parties have mentioned that they have offered a higher rate of incentives to Western Australia for submitting the project on a cost-efficient basis. The issues associated with the budget was difficult; however, after offering the additional fund, the project was able to meet sustainability.  

In future, significant care has to be undertaken while preparing the budget and making the financial arrangement. Health and Hospital Fund (HHF) was able to overcome the issues of finance under effective leadership. However, in future, it is essential to maintain backup funds and make important considerations while preparing the budgets.

Conclusion

The present report provided a significant overview of the Midland Health Campus Project. The project encountered different challenges related to the development of the plan and maintenance of the entire project. The state was the prime leader in the project, and it was responsible for offering some relief related to these issues. Furthermore, the report also analysed the important stakeholders of the Midland Health Campus Project. The different stakeholders have different interest, contribution and involvement in the project. In addition to that, funding models of the projects are discussed to evaluate if the project has encountered sustainability.