Healthscope chief executive Tino La Spina says the company does not expect to profit by handing over its Northern Beaches Hospital into public hands but admits removing its most troubled asset from its portfolio of 38 facilities helps pave the way for a sale of the debt-laden company.

Healthscope said on Thursday it has proposed switching ownership of the 400-plus bed hospital in Sydney’s north to the NSW government because the agreement it operates under was no longer viable. The Minns government has to agree to take back the hospital because the contract has another 13 years to run.