Minns moves to ban public-private hospital partnerships after toddler’s death

Future public-private partnerships at hospitals that provide emergency services and acute care will be banned under new sweeping reforms introduced by the Minns government following the death of little Joe Massa.

Future public-private partnerships at hospitals that provide emergency services and acute care will be banned under new sweeping reforms introduced by the Minns government on Thursday.

They come in response to the death of two-year-old Joe Massa who died after initially being treated at Northern Beaches Hospital in September last year.

Two-year-old Joe Massa' parents Elouise and Danny claim a systemic failure by Northern Beaches Hospital led to Joe's preventable death. Pictured is Joe Massa. Picture: Supplied

At Northern Beaches Hospital, which is run in public partnership with private hospital provider Healthscope, Joe had to wait more than two-and-a-half hours for a bed – despite a dangerously high heartbeat and as his mother’s pleas for intravenous fluids were rejected – prompting a parliamentary inquiry.

The new legislation, to be named ‘Joe’s Law’, will ban any future public-private partnerships being entered into to either build or operate any of the state’s acute care hospitals.

The legislation, which was be introduced to parliament on Thursday afternoon, will have no effect on current public-private partnerships, such as the one that operates at Northern Beaches Hospital. The reforms will be debated when parliament resumes in May.

Elouise and Danny Massa, parents of the Joe Massa. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

Joe’s parents, Elouise and Danny Massa, told 2GB on Thursday, they believed their son would be alive if not for the hospital’s public-private ownership model.

“Not one day can go past where lives are lost to a broken healthcare system,” Ms Massa said.

“I know that Joe would have had a much greater chance of being alive with us today without our family, with our two other siblings had the emergency department at Northern Beaches Hospital been publicly run.”

Mr Massa said: “All Healthscope cares about is profits, so this hits them where it hurts.”

Premier Chris Minns said acute hospitals should be protected against future private-public partnerships. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

Premier Chris Minns said emergency health care should not be privatised.

“As a Labor government, we believe critical public services like acute hospitals should remain in public hands, safeguarded from privatisation,” he said.

The Premier said he would not rule out buying back Northern Beaches Hospital from Healthscope in the future and would wait for the auditor general’s report into the management of the hospital before making any decisions.

Premier Chris Minns did not rule out buying back Northern Beaches Hospital as it faces a financial crisis: Brendan Read

With hospital operator Healthscope currently facing financial crisis, having retained insolvency experts to prepare financial contingency plans, the Premier said he wouldn’t allow the Northern Beaches Hospital close should the company enter voluntary administration.

“We’re not going to let Northern Beaches Hospital close its doors,” he said.

“Under all circumstances that community needs an emergency department.

“There’s a big difference between it going out of business and it being bought out. Obviously a huge windfall gain to the private owners and we’ve got to manage the government’s response to that.”

Health Minister Ryan Park said the new laws to amend the Health Services Act 1997 would “mean that public hospitals which provide services such as emergency, surgical and inpatient services, will be protected under this government and from any future government that wishes to enter into such partnerships with private providers”.

“Our major and local community hospitals should be run by the people,” he said.

He said the new laws would have no impact on fully private hospital models, or stop government interactions with the private health sector with assistance in other clinical areas such as surgery waitlists.