To guide Northern Beaches Hospital back into public hands, the state government has deployed a specialised NSW Health team to work alongside current hospital staff.
On Monday September 1, the government announced the transition assessment and planning team from the Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) will be on site working with hospital operator Healthscope. This will allow for greater understanding of the priority areas for a smoother transition away from the public-private model.
The team will assess key areas where gaps exist in policy, procedure, and operational practice’. Dr Sophie Scamps, MP for MacKellar, welcomed the news.
“Today marks a new era for Northern Beaches Hospital, which is now on a pathway to be brought back under public management and fulfill its core purpose – delivering safe, effective, and equitable healthcare for the Northern Beaches now and into the future.
“What’s clear is that hospital staff have not been listened to, effectively resourced, or supported by Healthscope, the private operator of the hospital, for many years, however this stops today.”
Dr Scamps asserted that future transition plans must include a review of the current level of funding and provision of public health services, in consultation with hospital staff, local healthcare providers and the community.
Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby said that this transition provides a new beginning for the hospital. “This is a critical shift in undoing the failed public private partnership that we’ve been fighting for, to make Northern Beaches Hospital a publicly run hospital, run in the interests of patients and staff,” Ms Scruby said.
“As of today, we have boots on the ground undertaking the necessary due diligence to review systems and reporting, a key problem area identified in the audit of the hospital. We are finally getting visibility over systems that the community and government have never had under the public private partnership operated by Healthscope.”
Commercial negotiations around the transition are ongoing, and a timeline is yet to be released.
Ms Scruby has launched a petition in a bid to make the Northern Beaches Hospital go fully public.