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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Anne Davies and Natasha May

NSW to buy back private Northern Beaches hospital for $190m

A general view of Northern Beaches hospital in Sydney
The NSW health minister, Ryan Park, said the Northern Beaches hospital deal with Healthscope and its receiver was one of the most complex attempted by the state government. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

The NSW government will spend $190m to buy back the Northern Beaches hospital and integrate it into the public hospital system, ending a decade-long experiment in private ownership of a major Sydney hospital.

The NSW health minister, Ryan Park, said the in-principle deal “marks the beginning, not the end, of what will be a change in model of the way in which that hospital works”.

But Park warned the deal with Healthscope and its receiver was one of the most complex attempted by the NSW government.

The government said on Tuesday that:

  • The entire 494-bed hospital would return to public ownership.

  • All clinical and support staff at Northern Beaches hospital would be offered jobs by NSW Health at the facility.

  • Staff entitlements would be transferred to the NSW health department.

The minister said that the government understood that some clinicians and community members would like to see some private services continue. He said the in-principle deal to buy the entire operations was a starting point.

Doctors and specialists have warned that without a co-located private facility there would be reduced patient choice. Some could choose not to work at the hospital because they wouldn’t be able to conduct private practice, they’ve said.

Prof Keith Burgess, the president of the medical staff council at the Northern Beaches hospital, said the announcement had left some staff “quite disappointed”.

“The senior medical staff were hoping for a model that included a major public component with a preserved co-located private hospital,” Burgess said.

Some procedures currently performed would not be allowed once it became a public hospital because of its categorisation as a “level five” facility, he said.

“In the private sector, you can do what you like, and so a number of higher level procedures have been carried out, like cardiothoracic surgery … that will be proscribed if it’s a completely public hospital,” Burgess said.

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Dr Kathryn Austin, the president of the NSW branch of the Australian Medical Association, said more than 20,000 private surgeries performed at Northern Beaches hospital each year would be forced on to long public hospital waiting lists or join waiting lists at out-of-area private hospitals.

Park said the government intended to finalise the agreement with Healthscope by mid-2026.

The hospital’s main infrastructure is privately owned at present. Pharmacy, radiology, pathology and cleaning services, as well as the co-located GP clinic, are also privately operated. The hospital’s IT systems are not integrated with NSW Health.

The buy-back was welcomed by hospital nurses.

Shaye Candish, the general secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association, said recent uncertainty had been “extremely unsettling”.

“For nurses and midwives … transitioning to the public system gives them hope for stability, transparency and accountability,” Candish said.

The NSW treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, said Tuesday’s announcement ended “a failed ideological experiment” by the former Coalition government.

He said the $190m was a payment for the depreciated assets of the hospital including the building which was completed in 2018.

The issue of the quality of services was brought into focus after the death of two-year-old Joe Massa in 2024. He had presented to the emergency ward.

His mother, Eloise Massa, said on Tuesday: “I don’t want anyone else going through the torment that we went though. It was Joe’s love that guides our community to ensure that change occurs.”

The Independent federal member for Mackellar, Dr Sophie Scamps, endorsed the state’s decision t0 return the hospital to public ownership.

“[But] the next critical step in the transition is for the Minns government to secure the continued delivery of private services on the hospital campus,” she said.

“These services play a vital role in ensuring timely access to essential care and reducing wait times for our community.”

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