Calvary Mater staff have demanded that the Minns government end the hospital's public-private partnership (PPP) amid an inquiry's findings that the failed arrangement jeopardised the health of patients and staff.
The Mater mould and maintenance inquiry report, tabled on Wednesday in NSW Parliament, recommended that the disastrous PPP be terminated.
It also recommended that ownership and management of the Mater transfer to NSW Health as soon as possible.
The report found that "the health of patients was jeopardised by the failure to address the critical infrastructure and maintenance issues at the hospital", and the wellbeing and morale of staff had been "negatively impacted to a significant degree".
It also documented "higher than expected deaths and readmissions for respiratory conditions", amid recurrent contamination and proliferation of the deadly Aspergillus fumigatus mould at the cancer hospital.
The report found that the PPP "enabled very serious infrastructure and maintenance problems, and subsequent service failures, across the hospital".
It said the complexity of the PPP arrangement had "prevented accountability and appropriate and timely resolution of the infrastructure problems at the hospital".
It also found that the PPP did not save taxpayers' money, but "represents poor financial value for NSW".
"Whistleblowers have drawn attention to serious safety issues at the Mater in the public interest and at personal cost," the report said.
"In the absence of functioning accountability mechanisms, current and former staff, alongside their union representatives and local media, have had to raise concerns publicly and advocate for patient and staff safety."
Another key finding was that, despite the NSW government stepping in to do some work at the hospital such as replacing leaky cladding, "many serious issues remain unresolved".
The report found the hospital's heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system was a key factor in the mould contamination, as it lacked humidity control and was not properly maintained.
In June, the Minns government announced a $400 million "maintenance blitz" on the state's hospitals, with some of that money to go towards fixing the Mater's ageing and dysfunctional HVAC system. However, construction work has not been announced for the project yet.
The report followed three hearings that revealed allegations of corruption, cover-ups, falsified records, destroyed documents, intimidation and maintenance failures at the hospital.
Nurses accused the government of a "piss poor performance" over the issue, which reiterated a banner they held at a rally in January calling for the inquiry.
"As nurses, we don't care who owns the building or who's responsible under a contract," a spokesperson for Mater nurses said on Wednesday.
"We care whether our patients are safe, whether our colleagues can work in a safe environment and whether the hospital is maintained to the standard our community deserves.
"For years, we've watched infrastructure problems persist while responsibility seemed to be passed from one organisation to another."
The nurse spokesperson said the PPP arrangement at the Mater "seems to have created a system where accountability has too often been blurred".
"When problems arise, nurses need action, not debates over who is responsible.
"Our focus has always been patient care, but we've spent far too much time worrying about the condition of the building instead of being able to focus solely on our patients."
The spokesperson said no nurse should have to "question whether the environment they're working in is safe".
"The greatest frustration has been knowing that many of these issues were identified years ago, yet meaningful action has taken far too long. Our community absolutely deserves better."
Another Mater staffer said the hospital had been "forever stuck in a loop where this PPP contract permits the deniability of accountability and responsibility".
"Even if everything was fixed tomorrow, we are still stuck with this PPP contract which protects the partners from responsibility and takes money from healthcare in our community. It will never end until we are in public-only hands."
The Health Services Union (HSU) called for swift implementation of the inquiry's recommendation to put the Mater into public hands.
HSU secretary Gerard Hayes said the recommendation "vindicated years of warnings from health workers".
"Our members at the Calvary Mater have been raising the alarm about mould, potable water failures, intimidation of whistleblowers and a 'sweep it under the rug' culture for close to a decade," Mr Hayes said.
"The recommendation that the hospital return to public hands is a moment of accountability. It also sends a clear message about the failure of the public-private partnership model in our health system."
Mr Hayes said public-private partnerships don't work in hospitals.
"Whether it's the Northern Beaches or Newcastle, staff and patients are put at risk. It's time to end the failed experiment," he said.
