A controversial hospital where two children have recently died is failing to meet healthcare standards and is at risk of failure.
In a scathing report from the NSW auditor-general, the operators of Sydney’s Northern Beaches Hospital are accused of not taking sufficient actions to stop clinical safety risks.
Noting “concerning results” for some hospital-acquired complications, NSW auditor-general Bola Oyetunji said the hospital’s public-private partnership creates a tension between clinical outcomes and profits.
It is the hospital where toddler Joe Massa collapsed and died in September 2024 after a three-hour wait in the emergency department.
Newborn baby Harper Atkinson also died after treatment at the same facility, with her mother believing an hour-long wait for surgery contributed to the death.
Since the two deaths at Northern Beaches, Premier Chris Minns has banned public-private healthcare partnerships and said hospitals should not be driven by profits.
The report, tabled on Thursday morning, demanded hospital operator Healthscope fix safety and quality, system and reporting issues.
It accused management of not taking sufficient actions to stop clinical safety risks and said a “concerning” number of hospital-acquired complications were found, including in birthing trauma.
The report also called on the government to consider if the public-private model at Northern Beaches Hospital is the appropriate way forward for healthcare in the region.
Healthscope has said it would like to return control of the hospital to public hands, citing the government’s banning of the relevant partnership model.
The government has set up a task force to run the rule over a potential sale, but leaders have repeatedly stated they will not deliver Healthscope a financial windfall.
It operates 38 hospitals across the country and remains contracted to operate Northern Beaches Hospital until 2038.
But financial turmoil at the Canadian-controlled firm has placed its future in doubt.
Earlier, Harper’s parents detailed the ordeal of losing their child, with mother Leah forced to wait for an on-call team to arrive to begin an emergency caesarean section.
She told ABC’s 7.30 program she was “incredibly angry” she had been forced to wait, rather than receiving immediate treatment that she felt could have saved her daughter.
Northern Beaches Hospital does not run a 24-hour theatre on weekend nights, with an on-call team required to attend within 30 minutes to meet legal and ethical guidelines.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the on-call arrangements were not uncommon on weekends, but he added a review into the incident would shed more light on their suitability.
“We want to make sure we deliver the very best health care to people, and, clearly, when we don’t do that … people feel let down, and it’s our opportunity to have a look at it,” he told Sydney radio 2GB.
Lead image: AAP Photos
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