Fury as government goes ahead with demolition of Mona Vale Hospital building, despite inquiry
Anger is growing after the government announced it will be pushing ahead with the demolition of a hospital, against the recommendations of a parliamentary inquiry. Campaigners say it’s not too late to save it.
Manly
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The NSW Government will press on with the demolition of part of a northern beaches hospital despite the call of a parliamentary inquiry for it to cease.
The move is also against the wishes of 30,000 people living near Mona Vale Hospital who have fought for 20 years to keep acute services and a fully functioning emergency department on site.
The main building closed in 2018, along with the emergency department which was
downgraded to a 24/7 urgent care centre, when the new Northern Beaches Hospital opened.
However, campaigners today said it was not too late to save the main building.
Save Mona Vale Hospital chairman Parry Thomas said the government was pushing ahead
“despite the inquiry, despite thousands of residents protesting over the past 20 years, despite more than 30,000 signing petitions, and now despite COVID-19”.
“However, even now we don’t believe it’s too late to save this public asset – as was done with Port Kembla Hospital, a building of similar age and design,” he said.
The campaigners have the backing of a NSW Upper House Inquiry into the Operation and Management of Northern Beaches Hospital which in February, recommended that the demolition of the Mona Vale Hospital’s main building be halted and the emergency department reinstated to a level 3.
But on Friday the NSW Government rejected both recommendations saying that there was “significant asbestos” in the main building, as well as being embedded within the concrete ad the facade and that the building was no longer sound with demolition of the West Wing in progress. It said the new hospital had an emergency department.
Mr Thomas said that the group is appalled by the government and its disrespect for parliament and the community.
“In the midst of an international pandemic, it’s not the time to be demolishing a hospital,” Mr Thomas said.
“We have been fighting for 20 years to retain Mona Vale Hospital but the government has said its acute services had to go because of asbestos in the main building.
“The Upper House Inquiry has supported our view of the need for a local hospital by calling for an end to the demolition and the emergency department to be reopened.
“The government says those services are now available at Northern Beaches Hospital – but that hospital is an extra half-hour’s drive away, even via the most direct route, and closer to Bondi than Avalon.
“It has shown complete contempt for the Parliament by commencing demolition while the inquiry was underway – in the same way that it has shown contempt for the community over many years.”
Ryan Park, Shadow Minister Health, said the rejection of the recommendations was “a slap in the face to the community”.
Among some of the inquiry recommendations the NSW Government accepted was providing equal coronary interventions to both private and public patients, saying it was testing a model where suspected local heart attack patients who call Triple-0 will go straight to Northern Beaches Hospital, rather the Royal North Shore.
It also supported a recommendation that Northern Beaches Hospital’s services are adjusted to the evolving needs of the community saying it had already applied a range of adjustments since opening including the addition of a 24/7 interventional cardiology service.
The government also said it was working with Healthscope to “review the scope of outpatients services” at the hospital, but only noted the need for reinstating previously available public specialists clinics, including cardiology and neurology and enhancing paediatric outpatient services and ensuring outpatient services for public patients are bulk billed.
It also only noted extending the midwife group practice to all patients and providing birthing baths in all birthing suites.
A recommendation to provide a direct bus from Palm Beach to Northern Beaches Hospital was also noted, but not supported.
Other inquiry recommendations the government supported included:
•That NSW Health and Healthscope enhance transparency by publishing information on all inpatient and outpatient services available to public and private patients and out of pocket costs
•That the same level of care is offered to public and private patients
•That Healthscope ensures there is appropriate signage erected at the hospital notifying patients of their right to treatment as a public patient at no cost
•That rates of intervention in respect of all births be published.
The Manly Daily has requested a comment from NSW Health.