Ramsay Health Care
Profile
Ramsay Health Care is an Australian healthcare giant with subsidiaries present in countless countries, from the UK to France to Indonesia. Its facilities in France have undergone almost constant strikes by workers who allege understaffing, poor working conditions and low salaries, amongst other issues. In the UK and Australia protests against the company have focused on the issue of privatization, as movements demand that health care should be universal and free. The Australian community of Mildura recently celebrated a victory as a Ramsay-run hospital was returned to public hands after years of campaigning by the groups Mildura Hospital Conversation and Reclaim the Base.
Hospitals, day surgery, clinics, pharmacies
Violations
| TOP OFFENCE GROUPS (GROUPS DEFINED) | PENALTY TOTAL | NUMBER OF CASES |
|---|---|---|
| safety-related offences | £560,055 | 1 |
(March 31, 2023)
Stories
- Pounds for Patients? How private hospitals use financial incentives to win the business of medical consultants by The Centre for Health and the Public Interest (CHPI) (2019)
- Health Care Reforms and the Rise of Global Multinational Health Care Companies by Jane Lethbridge/Public Services International (PSI) (2015)
- Globalization and Health: Pathways, Evidence and Policy by Ronald Labonté, Ted Schrecker, Corinne Packer, Vivien Runnels (2009)
- European healthcare services and multinational companies: Major trends and eligibility for European Works Councils by Jane Lethbridge/Public Services International (PSI) (2007)
- Corporate Control of Healthcare in Australia by Fran Collyer and Kevin White/The Australia Institute (2001)
Activism
France: Force ouvrière lance une grève reconductible au sein de l'Hôpital privé Dijon Bourgogne
Infos Dijon | January 3, 2023
The Ramsay Santé union is demanding the recruitment of staff on permanent contracts to fill vacant positions as well as a 7% salary increase.
France: Employees of the Sainte-Marie private hospital, of the Ramsay Santé group, in Chalon-sur-Saône are on strike with their Force Ouvrière union
Force Ouvrière | December 1, 2022
The employees of the Sainte-Marie private hospital, of the Ramsay Santé group, have decided with their union Force Ouvrière to go on strike in order to force their management to open wage negotiations and improvements in working conditions.
Australia: Joondalup Health Campus allied workers vote to launch industrial action amid EBA negotiations with Ramsay
Caitlyn Rintoul | The West Australian | October 27, 2022
About a hundred and fifty workers have walked off the job at Joondalup Health Campus to vote on further industrial action amid a dispute over their employer’s latest wage and conditions offer.
Australia: Cairns Private Hospital staff protest for better pay and conditions from Ramsay Health
Cairns Post | August 5, 2022
Nurses and midwives employed by Ramsay Health Care at the Cairns Private Hospital, in Far-North Queensland, walked off the job for an hour on August 5 in a dispute for a new enterprise agreement.
France: Burn-outs, resignations, nurses fed up ... in Versailles, the clinic of the Franciscans on strike
Stéphane Corby | Le Parisien | March 22, 2022
All the employees of the private hospital protested on Monday to denounce the lack of staff and the poor working conditions within the establishment.
France: Clinique de La Muette: Ramsay Santé wants to lay off its cleaning staff
Chloé Bouvier | Force Ouvrière | December 2, 2021
Since November 15, employees of this clinic, which belongs to the Ramsay Santé group, have been protesting, demanding management abandon its plan to outsource cleaning and hotel services to the company Elior Health.
France: The largest hospital of the Ramsay Santé Group on strike
CGT Ramsay Santé Health Care | June 25, 2021
On June 23, 2021, the night staff of the Réa clinic were unable to leave their post after 12 hours of continuous work because the relief workers were on strike. This represented a serious and imminent danger. The CGT sent a letter to the Regional Health Agency (ARS), the prefect and the labor inspectorate to denounce the endangerment of employees and patients.
France: The tiny clinic that fought Ramsay
Nicolas De La Casinière | Rapports de Force | October 19, 2020
They arrived with the sign "Clinique du Parc, 35th day of strike"... October 15 marked the end of the conflict. They demanded an increase of €100, they ended up getting a €60 net increase, an "exceptional" bonus of €100, plus an agreement on the dressing/undressing bonus (which was included in the collective agreement, but never paid) as well as an interest bonus.
Australia: Wrongs finally righted – hospital campaigner
Anaiz Aguirre Olhagaray | Mildura Weekly | September 11, 2020
“It was just over a year ago in August 2019, that the Andrew’s Labour Government announced that Ramsay Health’s tenure as the, for profit managers of our public hospital, would conclude in September 2020. It was a monumental and very emotional day and testament to the power of the people,” she said.
France: "100% of the nursing staff" of the Ocean Clinic on strike, in Le Havre
CGT Ramsay Santé Health Care | July 16, 2020
“We have been alerting to the situation for years,” explains the nurse. After the national mobilization of June 16 for caregivers, the nurses and caregivers of the establishment specializing in the care of patients suffering from psychiatric disorders, therefore decided to harden the movement."
France: Clinique Croix du Sud: the strike wins over all departments, half of the operations canceled
La Depêche | October 14, 2019
Half of the staff at the Croix du Sud clinic, east of Toulouse, went on strike on Monday to demand human and material resources and a salary increase. This movement led the management (Ramsay Générale de Santé group) to cancel around a hundred surgeries.
France: Marseille: employees of the Monticelli clinic at the Vélodrome on strike
Ludovic Moreau | France 3 | January 14, 2019
The health group Ramsay Générale de Santé allegedly paid 6.4 million euros in dividends to its shareholders, but only offered 10 euros in bonuses to its employees according to the CGT union. The workers have been on strike since 7 a.m. this morning.
International:
France:
- Workers' Force (FO)
- General Confederation of Labor (CGT)
- French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT)
- French Union for Free Medicine (UFML Syndicat)
- National Union of Nursing Professionals (SNPI)
- French Confederation of Management (CFE-CGC)
- Solidarity Trade Union (SUS)
- Union of Doctors of Health Centers (USMCS)
UK:
- UNISON
- NHS For Sale
- Keep Our NHS Public
- We Are Plan C
- Corporate Watch
- We Own It
- Socialist Health Association
- British Medical Association (BMA)
Australia:
- NSW Nurses & Midwives Association
- Health and Community Services Union (HACSU)
- Mildura Hospital Conversation
- Reclaim the Base
& Lawsuits
France: Hauts-de-Seine: an investigation opened after the suspicious death of an infant at the private hospital of Antony
Aurélien Thirard | France TV Info | March 3, 2023
An investigation has just been opened into the death of a two-day-old infant on Wednesday evening at the private hospital in Antony (Hauts-de-Seine), two minutes after receiving an antibiotic injection... Asked by franceinfo, the Ramsay Santé group, owner of the private hospital in Antony, said "that an investigation is underway".
UK: Care firm making millions from NHS faces questions after kids die on its watch
Phil Cardy and Martyn Halle | The Mirror | November 28, 2021
Nadia’s heartbroken mother Lorraine told the Sunday Mirror: “We’ve had two inquests in two weeks. That can’t be a coincidence. Elysium are making vast amounts of money out of our children and not caring for them properly."
UK: Inquest finds 'serious failures' contributed to death of autistic teenager at Milton Keynes mental health unit
James Lowson | MK Citizen | July 1, 2021
The inquest jury concluded that Elysium Healthcare failed to properly protect Brooke. The jury outlined the following factors as contributing to her death: "The failure of staff to communicate information regarding an incident five days prior to her death."
UK: NHS payout for woman after 'woeful' spinal surgery
BBC | June 30, 2021
Hussien El-Maghraby's surgery on Judith Mills left her with nerve damage and bladder incontinence. Mrs Mills, who spent seven months in hospital, discovered the details of the botched operation following a BBC investigation. Surgery providers Ramsay Healthcare said he did not provide the level of care patients have the right to expect.
France: Caregivers from a Ramsay Santé clinic file a complaint over rape
Capital | September 4, 2020
A clinic of the Ramsay Santé group in Drancy (Seine-Saint-Denis) was allegedly the scene of rapes and sexual assaults on caregivers, who filed a complaint.
Australia: Coronavirus outbreak at Victorian psychiatric facility being investigated by health authorities
ABC News | April 23, 2020
Victorian health authorities are investigating a coronavirus outbreak at a private psychiatric facility which has resulted in at least 14 confirmed cases of the virus so far.
UK: Coroner orders review after private patient death
BBC | June 6, 2019
Ramsay Healthcare, which runs Berkshire Independent Hospital, apologised to Mr Healey's family and said an internal investigation had been completed "to ensure that all lessons have been learned and the practising privileges of the consultant have been terminated".
Private hospital operator Ramsay accused by Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) of anti-competitive behaviour in New South Wales
Ruby Cornish | ABC News | May 1, 2017
Australia's largest private hospital operator will face the Federal Court to answer accusations by the consumer watchdog that it abused market power by warning a group of surgeons away from a potential competitor.
UK: Death of Addingham man, 79, after 'haphazard' treatment at Bingley private hospital was misadventure, coroner rules
Kathie Griffiths | Ikley Gazette | June 25, 2015
"It's unbelievable. Dad chose the Yorkshire Clinic because we expected a high standard of care to be provided but we have been shocked by what happened."
& Relations
France: Clinique de L'Union: emergency services closed two nights a week
Emmanuel Haillot | La Dépêche | December 23, 2022
Because the emergencies of the Clinique de L'Union, north of Toulouse, have one of the highest attendance rates in the Toulouse metropolitan area (30,000 admissions per year), the question of the temporary closure of the service has become real angst.
Australia: Man forced to wait 24 hours in ED while having a stroke
Alysia Thomas-Sam | A Current Affair | June 3, 2022
Mr Prissmann had a serious migraine and was vomiting when he was rushed by ambulance to Monash Medical Centre in early May. After waiting 24 hours in the emergency department, he was eventually admitted for four days in a day ward and then released. Mrs Prissman claims he was released without an MRI being performed.
UK: Oxfordshire dad left with permanent hand injury following delay in treating Infection
Ellinor Fristrom | Oxford Mail | December 3, 2021
The legal team has now secured Anthony a settlement from Ramsay Healthcare, which ran the Horton Treatment Centre. Ramsay Healthcare apologised for the “shortcomings in the care provided and accepted that if antibiotics had been prescribed initially, Anthony would have avoided the severe infection and surgical intervention.
France: Cancer treatment in Burgundy: the Hôtel-Dieu du Creusot gives up offering chemotherapy to patients
Christophe Tourné | France Bleu | October 5, 2020
It has until now offered chemotherapy care to treat cancer, but it announced that it will have to give it up following an increase in the price of treatment demanded by its supplier, the Sainte-Marie Hospital in Chalon-sur-Saône, owned by Ramsay.
UK: Hip and knee surgeon suspended from Colchester Hospital
Katherine Palmer | Daily Gazette Standard | July 30, 2019
Mr Parker also worked The Oaks Hospital in Colchester, which is run by Ramsay Healthcare. A Ramsay Healthcare spokeswoman said: “Oaks Hospital was made aware Mr Parker has been suspended by Colchester Hospital and the General Medical Council.
Australia: 'Ticking time bomb': Staff raise alarm bells about patient safety at Mildura Base Hospital
Christiane Barro | The New Daily | April 22, 2019
Pharmacist Dan* worked tirelessly behind the scenes to rectify doctors’ prescribing errors at Victorian state-owned Mildura Base Hospital (MBH).
UK: Anaesthetists at 'inadequate' private hospital routinely left surgery to go and watch television
Neal Keeling | Manchester Evening News | March 15, 2017
The Care Quality Commission has branded Oaklands Hospital, which treats thousands of NHS patients, ‘inadequate’... In a statement from operators Ramsay Health Care UK said: “We acted immediately after the CQC inspection at Oaklands Hospital in October 2016, standing down the management team..."
UK: Cataract inquiry shows patients suffered ‘potentially serious harm’
James Meikle | The Guardian | November 11, 2014
In all, 19 patients received overdoses during surgery at Mount Stuart hospital, Torquay, part of the international private company, Ramsay Health Care on 26 July. The same drug error may have happened at the hospital the previous month, according to a report written in September and published by Ramsay on Tuesday.
Australia: Hospital keen to resolve back pay stoush
ABC News | August 21, 2012
The Health and Community Services Union says Ramsay Healthcare failed to pay between 20 and 30 staff the correct amount over the past six years.
Financials
Note: Not a complete list.
- Ramsay Santé
- Ramsay Health Care UK
- Albert Road Clinic
- Ramsay Health Care Indonesia
- Gracedale Private Nursing Home
- Elysium Healthcare
- MORE
Croctail Subsidiary Tool using the CorpWatch API - This API extracts the subsidiary relationship information from Exhibit 21 of companies' 10-K filings with the US SEC.
& Evasion
UK: Firms poised to take advantage of NHS shake-up 'avoid tax on their profits'
Daniel Boffey | The Guardian | March 17, 2012
Ramsay Health Care, the company with the greatest number of contracts in the NHS to provide services, has used a subsidiary in the Cayman Islands to finance the purchase of a French health company for its Australian parent.
France: Closure of the largest Ardèche maternity hospital: "It's a huge mess"
Nathalie de Keyzer | France Bleu | November 29, 2022
An Ardèche midwife who preferred to remain anonymous said: "we are all very sad about this closure, the midwives and patients are all crying. It's a terrible mess! They [the Ramsay Santé group] never wanted to give us the means to be able to work properly."
France: Red Cross centers in Ile-de-France soon to be bought by Ramsay Santé
Line Chopin | Le Monde | April 26, 2022
This sale, justified by a deficit, arouses concern among the staff as well as in the municipalities concerned.
UK: Unison warns against Hinchingbrooke franchise bidders
Hunts Post | November 1, 2020
Unison claims private companies delivering NHS healthcare have a history of failing to deliver the services they have been paid for.
France: Clinique Belharra: the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT) criticizes the new project
Anaiz Aguirre Olhagaray | Media Bask | September 14, 2020
It was under a blazing sun, this Monday, September 14 at 1 p.m., that the CFDT Santé-Sociaux called on the employees of the Belharra clinic in Bayonne to come together. The union denounces a new project to organize the establishment, owned since 2017 by the private group Ramsay Santé.
France: Health: the administrative staff of the Ramsay group does not want to leave the region
La Voix Du Nord | November 13, 2019
About forty employees of the establishments of the Ramsay-Générale de Santé group walked out for an hour on Monday afternoon, in front of the private hospital in Bois-Bernard. They were protesting against a plan to relocate the group's administrative services to Val d'Oise: around fifty people are affected in the region.
Australia: Albury Wodonga cancer services privatised
NSW Nurses & Midwives Association | July 27, 2016
Ramsay Healthcare signed an agreement with Albury Wodonga Health to run the new publicly-funded Cancer Centre in Albury Wodonga that was officiated this week... General Secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA), Brett Holmes, said privatisation was not the answer as it ended up costing taxpayers more in the long-run.
Procurement
UK: NHS England strikes private hospitals deal to fight Omicron surge
Sarah Marsh and Denis Campbell | The Guardian | January 10, 2022
The agreement includes Practice Plus Group, Spire Healthcare, Nuffield Health, Circle Health Group, Ramsay Health Care UK, Healthcare Management Trust, One Healthcare, Horder Healthcare, Aspen Healthcare and KIMS Hospital, the NHS said.
UK: The privateers eating our health service
Solomon Hughes | Morning Star | April 27, 2017
So Ramsay, one of Britain’s larger private hospital firms, isn’t really private at all. Nearly four out of five patients actually come from the NHS, thanks to privatisation. Ramsay’s £422 million annual turnover relies on a huge injection of NHS cash — far more than private health insurance.
UK: Private hospitals were paid over £1.5 billion during the pandemic
Good Law Project | November 3, 2021
Ramsay Health Care, which operates 34 UK hospitals and treatment centres, won contracts worth up to £380m. Its general counsel previously worked for the Department of Health and Social Care between 2008 and 2013.