Last week, the state government announced the controversial public-private partnership at Northern Beaches Hospital would come to an end.
The agreement was for Healthscope to operate public and private health services at the Frenchs Forest hospital, which opened in 2018 following the closure of public hospitals at Mona Vale and Manly, for 20 years.
But, after a series of concerning incidents – from a cancer patient having the wrong side of their colon removed during the hospital’s first year of operation, through to the tragic death of toddler Joe Massa in emergency revealed in February – the government expects take full control of the hospital from Healthscope by the middle of next year.
The private operator’s financial situation – Healthscope went into receivership in May with $1.6 billion in debt – also did little to instil confidence in the arrangement.
Ultimately, the Northern Beaches deal was untenable for NSW’s gold-standard public health system. Premier Chris Minns’ government has made the right call bringing public services back under government control.
The takeover will cost taxpayers $190 million. A bargain, compared to the figure in the original contract between the state government and Healthscope, which Minns said on Tuesday was “north of $800 million”.
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But with less than a year until the deal is set to be done, Northern Beaches locals need more information about what is happening to the private arm of their hospital: a major facility providing elective surgery, cancer care, maternity and other services to privately insured and self-funding patients.
The state branch of the Australian Medical Association is calling for the government to ensure Northern Beaches Hospital continues to provide private services, raising concerns about staff departures following the decision.
In a statement, the association noted that, while senior medical staff at the hospital agree that Northern Sydney Local Health District should operate the hospital’s public arm, more than 200 such staff recently passed a resolution supporting continuing private services for the community.
