Why did Kerry Packer dump St Vincents?
By Stephen Mayne Kerry Packer’s greatest benevolence almost certainly revolved around what he gave to Sydney hospitals and emails to Crikey continue to shed more light on what happened over the years. Naturally, every time KP had an operation, he got a bill and the first time he had an operation at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH), he said to the anaesthetist: “How much will this f*cking cost me?” The anaesthetist, somewhat stunned, stammered “I charge the AMA rate”, to which KP replied “I didn’t mean your f*cking bill. Last time I had to pay the Sisters of Mercy $1 million.” Interestingly, Kerry Packer changed hospitals part way through his treatment for renal failure in around 1999. He had long been a St Vincent’s patient, which is run by the Sisters of Mercy. For the last seven years he went to RPAH and the exact reasons for the change are the subject of much rumour, but he was clearly unhappy. There’s talk that the Sisters made an excessive grab for money or alternatively that K