Foreign hospital takeover not healthy, says Labor

The NSW opposition wants the government to refer a proposed takeover of the Northern Beaches Hospital to the FIRB.

NSW opposition health spokesman Walt Secord.

The NSW opposition has demand­ed the state government refer the proposed foreign takeover of the Northern Beaches Hospital to the Foreign Investment Review Board.

North American firm Brookfield Asset Management is poised to take over Healthscope, the company in charge of the privatised hospital, and opposition health spokesman Walt Secord says the FIRB needs to examine the bid.

Healthscope, which has more than 40 private hospitals, has a portfolio valued at $4.1 billion.

Brookfield has said it is finalising its due diligence and debt commit­ment with a view to submitti­ng a binding offer to take over Healthscope.

It said in a recent statement it “intends to seek the necessary inter­nal approvals required to submit a fully documented, fully financed, binding offer” for the company.

Mr Secord said: “The bottom line has to be patient safety, and the Berejiklian government has to ensure patient safety is not compromised.

“The community already has real concerns about the Berejik­lian government’s failed private-public partnership experiment, and there is fear about an ­overseas equity fund taking over a ­hospital where the interests of ­shareholders will trump patients.

“The Northern Beaches Hos­pital has been plagued with problem­s since day one; if the hospita­l goes to overseas interests, the situation is likely to worsen.

“We know a private equity firm will be about maximising its profit­s for its overseas investors.

“This will occur by cutting the staff and cutting corners on ­patient care.”

Health Minister Brad Hazzard refused yesterday to commit to refer­­ring the sale, with his office referring the matter to Healthscope. A Healthscope spokesman declined to “comment on any speculation” in relation to the propose­d takeover.

A spokeswoman for Mr Hazzar­d said NSW Health could not comment on speculation and if there was any development it would “of course comply with all regulatory requirements”.

Labor is expected to use the issue as part of its scare campaign against the “Americanisation” of NSW hospitals that it says has started with the Northern Beaches Hospital project.

Mr Secord said there had been concerns at the hospital over a “two-tier system — with preference given to private patients over public patients, cancellation of elective surgery and … doctors and junior doctors complaining about inadequate supervision and, in one instance, a young doctor in the emergency department was responsible for 60 patients”.

In November, the chief executive of the $600 million hospital, Deborah Latta, resigned just two days after she attended the opening of the hospital featuring NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

Government sources said yesterda­y that Joondalup Hos­pital in Western Australia, which was built in another private-public partnership, has had multiple owners and that had not affected its operations in any way.

It still employed the same staff to meet the same service requirements, they said.