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Health Minister Ryan Park says he is “reasonably confident” private health services will continue at Northern Beaches Hospital, while conceding high demand for out-of-pocket care has been an added complexity to the $190 million public takeover of the scandal-plagued hospital.
The hospital will officially move into public hands on Wednesday, six months after the Minns government struck a takeover deal with its former private operator, Healthscope, following the death of two-year-old Joe Massa in 2024.
The hospital has been beset by scandals since it was delivered by the former Coalition government under a controversial public-private partnership (PPP). Joe’s death prompted immediate calls for the state government to take it over after his parents, Elouise and Danny Massa, launched a campaign for an overhaul.
After initially passing “Joe’s law”, which banned future public-private partnerships in hospitals, the government entered into negotiations for a full takeover after Healthscope went into receivership last year.
Park described the $190 million deal as “one of the most difficult things we’ve done, but one of the most rewarding”. While Labor objected to the PPP from opposition, he said there had been “no intention” of unwinding it when the party won government in 2023. But with less than a year until the next election, it will stand as one of the government’s most significant reforms.
Since the deal was agreed last October, health officials have been working to fold the hospital into the public system as well as onboarding more than 1900 staff who accepted offers of employment.
“In the original PPP, there was time set of about three years to do a transition,” Park said.
“So what we’ve done in essentially 12 months is what probably would have taken three to four years in reality.”
While numerous issues at the Northern Beaches Hospital have been uncovered before and since Joe’s death – a NSW auditor-general’s report last year found the PPP created “tension between commercial imperatives and clinical outcomes” – doctors have warned removing private services would result in longer surgical waitlists and increased pressure on the public system.
Data from industry group Private Health Australia has shown 79 per cent of the northern beaches’ 211,000 residents have private health insurance, significantly higher than the national average of 55 per cent.
In March, the government announced an interim agreement which will see private services continue to June 2027, appointing health sector leader David Swan to investigate their future. Park said that work was ongoing, and had added to the complexity of the transfer.
“I think there is an opportunity for a model of care or a co-location model, where they are doing that elective surgery in an environment and in a region that has very high private cover,” Park said.
“You’re dealing with people who pay a lot of money each month because they want to be able to use those private services when they need it. So, the complexity with this takeover was that the community also needed – and wanted, and had been paying for every month in their premiums – to be able to have that close by nearby.
“I’m reasonably confident that we can get there. I want to make sure, though, that I give time for that model to be thought through … before we roll it out.”
Park freely admits the takeover would likely not have occurred without the Massa family’s advocacy.
For Elouise Massa, Wednesday will mark a bittersweet moment. The couple first met Park and Premier Chris Minns in February last year, and presented a list of requests, including end of PPPs in the health system.
The takeover is one of the final results of their campaign, which also included funds for NSW Health’s new Raise It program, a statewide hotline for patients and families to raise care concerns in hospitals.
While, at the time, unpicking a complex, multi-year deal with Healthscope seemed unlikely, she said she had not hesitated asking the government for major changes.
“The honest answer is I always knew we had to do something, we couldn’t remain silent, because I knew there were so many changes that had to take place around systems, processes, structures, and that it was the right thing to do,” she said.
“I honestly believe that it’s Joe who guided this journey for us. It’s his love.
“NSW Health prides itself on a gold standard of care and I truly believe if Northern Beaches Hospital had been in state hands from day one Joe could well be alive today.”
While she struggles to claim credit, she said she was proud of Joe.
“It’s Joe’s love who has made this monumental change; we have channelled his love every step of the way. His love now belongs to everyone,” she said.
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