NSW is expected to ban future privatisation of public acute hospitals, with the state government announcing “Joe’s law” on Thursday, named for the two-year-old who died at the Northern Beaches hospital.
Joe Massa suffered a cardiac arrest and died in September after waiting three hours in the emergency department operated by private hospital provider Healthscope in a public-private partnership (PPP).
The partnership, set up under the former Coalition government, replaced two smaller public facilities in 2018.
The Minns government was due to introduce an amendment to the Health Services Act to state parliament on Thursday afternoon. The health minister, Ryan Park, was “confident” they had the numbers to see it passed the following week.
“We cannot afford this type of model to be in place again,” Park said.
The state’s opposition leader, Mark Speakman, said the Coalition was yet to see the bill or discuss whether to support it.
The legislation would protect hospitals that provide services such as emergency, surgical and inpatient services from any future government pushing for privatisation. Private partnerships would still be used for elective surgeries.
The premier, Chris Minns, told parliament it was a privilege to make the announcement with Joe’s parents, Elouise and Danny Massa, who had advocated for the change.
To speak publicly about the “unimaginable tragedy” of their child’s death took “enormous courage”, he said.
“The Massas have done this for one reason only – so that another family doesn’t go through what they’ve gone through. It is a wonderful piece of public service.”
Holding a pair of her son’s shoes, Elouise Massa declared that “the moral compass in our healthcare has been reset”.
“We stand here with heavy hearts but such gratitude this is happening,” she said.
She said it was a “monumental day for people in NSW to know they will be taken care of when they enter [a] public emergency department”.
Minns confirmed the ban would not be retrospective, meaning the Northern Beaches hospital would not be immediately returned to public hands.
Asked if the government would consider buying it back, Minns said: “I’m not going to speculate about the future, other than to say I’m not ruling anything out, and the government will act to ensure people are safe right across NSW.”
“We’re not going to let Northern Beaches close its doors. Under all circumstances, that community needs an emergency department,” he added.
The premier said the government was “staggering and layering” its response to the death.
The NSW government will hold a parliamentary inquiry into the safety and quality of the hospital’s services. A previous inquiry into the hospital’s operation and management, conducted in 2019, raised concerns about the PPP model.
The government also requested a coronial inquest into the circumstances around Joe Massa’s death and a commitment for Healthscope to implement all recommendations from a review into the death filed to NSW Health in December.
Healthscope, which operates 38 hospitals across the country, is contracted to operate Northern Beaches hospital until 2038.
– with Australian Associated Press
