Mum of toddler who died at Northern Beaches Hospital says review into public-private model leaves her ‘sick to the core’
The mother of a two-year-old boy who died after critical failures at Northern Beaches Hospital says she feels “sick to the core” after reading a NSW Health review that exposes widespread issues.
The grieving mother of a two-year-old boy who died at Northern Beaches Hospital says she is “sick to the core” after reading a damning report into the facility, which exposes systemic issues tied to its controversial public-private operating model.
The NSW Health-commissioned review, obtained by 2GB’s Ben Fordham, follows the death of toddler Joe Massa last year, and reveals ongoing structural and cultural failings, including: junior staff afraid to escalate emergencies; critical technology not installed; and inadequate access to essential clinical support systems.
Joe’s mother, Elouise Massa, told Fordham the hospital “wasn’t built like other state-run emergency departments,” placing northern beaches patients and staff at a disadvantage.
“Reading this report for the first time made Danny and I feel sick to the core,” she said.
“It outlines structural inequity … We are baffled. How could this hospital be built with such inequity? It is an injustice for the people on the Northern Beaches of NSW, close to 300,000 people.”
One of the most shocking revelations is that critical overhead cameras, used in other public
hospitals across NSW to allow remote monitoring of neonatal and pediatric emergencies, were never installed at Northern Beaches Hospital.
These ‘CCON’ cameras enable real-time clinical support and decision-making, including through NSW’s newborn and pediatric emergency transport services (NETS), but were not factored into the hospital’s original build under its public-private partnership (PPP) model.
“These cameras support 600 lifesaving consultations each month … but yet, Northern Beaches Hospital was not built with these cameras,” Ms Massa said.
“When doctors next to call the neonatal emergency team couldn’t get eyes on Joe, it’s because the technology was never there. That is outrageous.”
The report found that clinicians are forced to operate without essential support tools, or do their best without access to real-time visual consultation, a situation described as “particularly concerning” by the review team.
It also criticised the PPP model itself, warning that it prioritises efficiency over care, resulting in “lean rostering” and inadequate access to key public health support systems like My Health Learning, CIAP and HETI.
“They don’t have the right nurse-to-staff ratios, which is outlined in this report,” Ms Massa said.
“They have junior staff that are still today not feeling confident enough to escalate and trigger rapid response pathways for babies that are in the category two zone.”
Ms Massa said she and her husband Danny urged immediate action.
“Yes, there have been improvements. But close to half of the recommendations in this report have a 12-month timeline. I don’t want to be back on your show in 12 months. Let’s get these issues fixed now.”
Health Minister Ryan Park said NSW moved quickly to investigate the Northern Beaches Hospital emergency department after the tragic death of Joe Massa, with an independent inquiry already prompting major reforms.
“Following the revelations of the tragic death of Joe Massa, I wanted to ensure a swift and comprehensive response,” he said.
“As part of this, we tasked the Clinical Excellence Commission with an independent inquiry into the emergency department at Northern Beaches Hospital.
“It made 13 recommendations, nine directed to the hospital and three jointly directed to both the hospital and NSW Health.”
Mr Park said the hospital and health district had begun acting on the report’s findings, with several changes already underway and the Massa family personally briefed on the recommendations.
“The hospital has advised they are actively working on implementing the recommendations to address care gaps, including the implementation of new clinical governance and escalation processes. The local health district has confirmed those needing immediate implementation have been actioned,” he said.
“My office and the secretary have taken Elouise and Danny Massa through the report and recommendations.
“I want to thank the CEC for their work, and I am confident it will bring about important structural changes in the way care is delivered.”
In a statement, Northern Beaches Hospital said: “The team at Northern Beaches Hospital continue to meet or exceed the performance of comparable NSW public hospitals on most clinical measures, including elective surgery access, ambulance transfer and emergency department performance.
“The CEC inquiry has made a number of recommendations to further enhance performance at the hospital, and noted that many of these have been addressed as part of the implementation of the SAER that followed the death of baby Joe Massa.
“NBH will work with the CEC and the NSLHD to enact all recommendations in the proposed timeframes.”
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