Royal North Shore Hospital sell-off back in the limelight

Medical Staff Council chairman Dr Bruce Cooper isn’t happy about the proposed Royal North Shore Hospital land sell-off or lease, and demands answers from Premier Mike Baird and Health Minister Jillian Skinner.

Generic photos of Royal North Shore Hospital. Picture: Elenor Tedenborg

FOR MONTHS, questions have circulated about whether developers or commercial operators would be willing to put down millions to buy or rent a portion of the Royal North Shore ­Hospital.

Now with a state election looming, Medical Staff Council chairman Dr Bruce Cooper said he wanted answers from both the Premier Mike Baird and Health Minister Jillian Skinner.

“A petition with 12,272 signatures was accepted by the Greens but they weren’t able to table it in time and will do so after the elections, since then we have received an additional 5000 signatures objecting to the sale and or lease of RNSH,” Dr Cooper said.

Previously reserved for medical programs, Dr Cooper said the government’s decision to sell the southern part of the site for redevelopment would be corroborated by voters at the polling booth.

The long-term implications of the sale or lease outweigh the short-term gain according to North Shore Greens candidate Dr Arthur Chesterfield Evans.

“It’s just a fire sale that is selling the future for a piddly amount,” Dr Evans said.

North Shore Labor candidate James Wheeldon, who is also against the move, said the minister should listen to what the people are saying.

“The proceeds which the State Government expect to receive will be about two and half months’ worth of hospital operating costs and for that, they’re willing to compromise the future of health to put money in the coffers and make Baird’s budget more attractive,” he said.

Mrs Skinner said the Labor government had planned to sell 30 per cent of the site and that she had kept her promise of a moratorium until the plan had been signed off.

“The sale or lease of 8 per cent of the RNSH campus site will support services including child care, patient and carer accommodation, car parking, health administration and retail,” she said.