NSW Health Minister Ryan Park rules out further privatisation of health services

A state health minister says one thing won’t happen again on his watch following the death of a two-year-old in hospital and cancelled industrial action.

The privatisation of health services is not the model of healthcare that NSW Health Minister Ryan Park “will be ever implementing”.

In an interview with the ABC on Friday morning, Mr Park spoke about the climate health services are facing.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park has ruled out the further privatisation of health services. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

He said it was a “good decision” to stop the privatisation models of five additional NSW hospitals.

“We are now in a situation where the private operator operates that hospital, but we need to drive the standards and quality and care,” he said.

Mr Park said he would not implement a public-private partnership again as minister.

It comes after the Fair Work Commission cancelled what was going to be a 26-hour, statewide strike across eight hospitals run by private hospital operator, Healthscope.

The NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) has been campaigning for an improved enterprise agreement to better working conditions and a 15 per cent one-year wage increase.

Nurses and midwives across NSW were ordered to stop their planned 26-hour, statewide industrial action. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Healthscope submitted an order to suspend or terminate the industrial action to the FWC on February 20.

The company said it applied for the order “due to concerns about the safety, health and welfare of patients”.

“These concerns were due to the NSWNMA’s refusal to provide assurances around safe staffing,” a Healthscope spokesperon said.

Full reasoning behind the decision is yet to be released, but commissioner Phillip Ryan suspended any industrial action from 6am on February 21 to 8am on February 22.

NSWNMA acting general secretary Michael Whaites said the union was “very disappointed” by the suspension of the industrial action.

Ms Whaites said she would meet with members to discuss next steps and the union would “continue its enterprise bargaining efforts on behalf of its members”.

The industrial action was set to begin at 6am on Friday. About 300 nurses and midwives from Sydney’s Northern Beaches Hospital walked off the job in anticipation of the strike.

Mr Park said he understood the reason behind the strike as well as the order for it to be cancelled.

“The healthcare workers have a right to strike and a right to take industrial action, but they also need to continue to operate health services,” he said.

The strike came a day after Northern Beaches Hospital found itself at the centre of an independent inquiry into the death of a two-year-old in September last year.

Mr Park labelled the incident as “catastrophic”.

“This is the worst possible scenario one can find themselves in. It shouldn’t have happened,” he said.

“The hospital let down that family severely and for that, as the Health Minister, I’m truly sorry.”

Two-year-old boy Joe Massa died after he was left waiting for 2.5 hours in emergency. Picture: Supplied

Joe Massa died after his parents rushed him to the emergency room following numerous failures from the hospital.

The boy triaged at level three, which meant he was left waiting 2½ hours when he should have been receiving treatment within 10 minutes.

On at least three occasions, Joe’s parents asked for intravenous fluids to hydrate their son, but they said he was not hooked up to anything until moments before his cardiac arrest.

“One of the big things that went downhill … is that they failed to listen to Elouise, his mum,” Mr Park said.

“Parents of young children know their children better than anyone,” he continued.

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said a coronial inquest was “something reasonable” for the NSW Premier to consider.

“I think the family deserves answers in the circumstances … for the sake of the family and for them and for the memory of Joe,” Mr Dutton said.

Premier Chris Minns said he would not rule out further inquiries.

“We take this incredibly seriously and I’m profoundly, profoundly sorry this has happened,” he said.

He then vowed to “do anything we can to ensure that (the Massas) get answers as to what happened”.

“We have to do our absolute darnedest to make sure that Joe is never forgotten,” Mr Park said.

“The issues surrounding Joe’s death are never forgotten and we use them in a way to inspire better health care in that area.”

There was also confirmation from the Health Minister that the government was looking at how to improve the REACH (Recognise, Engage, Act, Call, Help) model – a system that assists patients, carers and their family to raise concerns with hospital staff about changes to a patient’s condition.

Originally published as NSW Health Minister Ryan Park rules out further privatisation of health services