ED numbers down as hospital moves into a 14-month stabilisation period
The Northern Beaches Hospital (NBH) has transferred to the public health system, ending eight years of the public private partnership under Healthscope.
The landmark handover date of 30 April occurred 12 months after Healthscope started discussions with the State Government to hand over the public part of the hospital. Healthscope was the operator for 12 years.
The campaign for the public handover was prompted after the tragic death of local toddler Joe Massa, who died after failures in care at the NBH emergency department (ED). Parents Elouise and Danny argued that a private operator should never be in charge of an ED, and the State Government answered their campaign with a series of legislative changes. This included passing Joe’s Law, which will prevent any future public private partnerships.
Mackellar MP Sophie Scamps, who has long campaigned to oust Healthscope, said the transition ‘heralds the end of Healthscope’s management of NBH, which was plagued with persistent operational issues, including chronic understaffing and untenable workloads, creating risks to patient care.
“I want to thank the many community members, hospital staff, clinicians, and patients who have worked tirelessly on this transition to ensure the Northern Beaches community has access to quality, safe and equitable care.”
The government said that following the transition of the hospital to public ownership, the Northern Beaches community ‘can be assured they will continue to have access to private services until 30 June, 2027.’ It added: “The government continues to work with the community and clinicians to finalise and implement a long-term plan for private services.”
An addendum to the NBH Clinical Services Plan was released on 24 April, to offer a ‘deliberately stabilised operating model that maintains current core activity while strengthening governance and improving visibility of service volumes over 14 months.’
The plan emphasises the continuation of certain types of surgery which were under a cloud, for example the use of the da Vinci robot for public surgery. Elective cosmetic surgery cannot be offered at a public hospital, but the plan says maxillofacial operations would be provided for ‘procedures that can be appropriately offered in a public hospital under existing policies.’
A spokesperson for the Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) confirmed most surgeries offered by the public system would occur, bar ‘a limited number of services.’ For example, ‘very complex operations like cranial neurosurgery.’
Other services will be expanded, with public access to planned interventional cardiology and faster stroke treatment.
To continue operating with VMOs in a public hospital, the NSLHD had to seek an exemption from the Federal Government. For the next 14 months, the plan says ‘services for privately insured patients will largely continue under the Interim Clinical Services Model while options for a separate operator for private services is explored.’
Extra nurses and midwives will be recruited to match the public hospital minimum staffing levels, including in ED. The plan acknowledges that the ‘current ED volume at NBH, while declining recently, has averaged around 65,000 presentations per annum over the past three years.’
NSW Premier Chris Minns said at the handover ceremony: “Bringing this hospital back into public hands means the people of the Northern Beaches can have confidence their hospital is being run in the public interest.”
A state-first High Volume Planned Surgery Centre will open in July at NBH, and be accessed by hundreds of NSW residents. The plan says that the centre will require ‘capital investment’ to accommodate the extra 5,000 surgeries a year, including more theatre capacity, equipment and staff.