Dr Grant Howard gave evidence against Keezz in New Zealand, then recommended the company to oversee operations at Canberra Hospital.
Canberra Health Services has engaged business services firm Keezz Pty Ltd to establish an operations centre for Canberra Hospital at a cost of $580,000 despite the company suing the last hospital it worked for to the tune of $782,000.
Keezz went to court with Waikato District Health Board, claiming the improvements it had made in the hospital’s surgical division were high enough to trigger a $500,000 “at risk fee”.
According to the WDHB, Keezz saved only about $9.7 million, but there was no agreement on how the savings would be measured. Keezz insisted the savings totalled over $36 million.
Keezz lost that case, partly due to evidence given by Canberra Health Services COO Dr Grant Howard, who has, according to the Canberra Times, a longstanding relationship with the company’s health consultant, Lindsay Boyd.
“Mr Boyd alleged the savings calculations were included on a document given to Dr Howard, who was the then-interim chief executive, and he signed the document saying ‘I fully agree’,” reported the Canberra Times.
“Dr Howard told the court he had no recollection of making the note and a copy could not be located. The court did not accept Mr Boyd’s evidence.”
Despite giving evidence against Keezz, Dr Howard went on to recommend Keezz for the role with Canberra Hospital.
A spokesperson for Canberra Health Services said while Dr Howard identified Keezz as a company with expertise in the field, he was not involved in the invite-only procurement process, and that Keezz’s work had already resulted in improvements at the hospital.
Apart from establishing an operations centre, Keezz is also contracted to oversee the health service and manage patient flow throughout the hospital.
The Canberra Health Services contract began in March 2024, less than a year after Dr Howard testified against Mr Boyd.
The CHS spokesperson said its contract with Keezz would not be liable to a similar lawsuit because it had different terms – unlike the performance-based New Zealand contract, Keezz’s contract with CHS was “based on the hours Mr Boyd had worked at Canberra Hospital”.
“The contract can also be cancelled at short notice. The contract requires a representative from Keezz to work at Canberra Hospital every day of the week with a focus on weekends.
“The integrated operations centre at Canberra Hospital looks at patient journeys, such as emergency department presentations or a planned admission through to discharge or transfer, to ensure patients are safely and effectively flowing through relevant hospital emergency departments,” the spokesperson was reported to say.
“The operations centre has a focus on balancing planned and unplanned demand across the health system, including all ACT public hospitals.
“The operations centre has already made a difference to the patient journey through Canberra Hospital … has supported patients to move through our hospitals more quickly … more bed capacity has become available which means better access and outcomes for patients.”
The spokesperson said Dr Howard had excluded himself from the procurement process after identifying Keezz as a suitable company for the work.
“Only three companies were invited to tender for the project,” said the Canberra Times.
“One of the companies declined to make a bid. Keezz offered the lowest price and had the greatest value against the tender criteria.”