Sydney children’s hospitals to co-exist after long campaign by The Australian

NSW Health rules complex surgeries should continue at both Randwick and Westmead hospitals.

Staff at Randwick have argued for some time that skulduggery has been behind the dilapidation of their services towards Westmead as part of a broader goal of amalgamation. Picture: AAP.

A long-running dispute between doctors at two Sydney children’s hospitals appears to have finally been settled, with a NSW Health Ministry report released on Friday ruling that complex surgeries should continue at both hospitals rather than amalgamated onto one site.

The independent review of children’s health services, conducted by emeritus professor Richard Henry AM, made 77 recommendations relating to the care of children across the NSW hospital system.

The headline finding, that cardiac services should remain at the Sydney Children’s Hospital at Randwick and also the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, signifies a win for clinicians at Randwick who vigorously opposed the move and the perceived draining of services from their campus.

The decision follows a campaign by The Australian, which has led the reporting of this issue for more than year, highlighting the concerns of Randwick-based doctors who feared that children would die if cardiac services were transferred in their entirety to the Westmead campus.

“NSW needs two robust children’s hospitals with full services and that’s what they are delivering,” said Michael Solomon, head of the orthopaedic department at the Sydney Children Hospital, who welcomed the decision.

“Our results are world standard. The ministry has now come out with a clear decision that cardiac surgery must remain at the Children’s Hospital in Randwick.”

Mr Henry’s report is one of many reviews, roundtables and high-level discussions that have taken place over the past 18 months to quell tensions between the two warring hospitals.

In releasing the report, the NSW government also committed an additional $10m for paediatric cardiac services to provide “the best possible equipment and infrastructure” for children presenting at both hospitals.

“Both The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and the Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick will remain comprehensive children’s hospitals with tertiary and quaternary services on each site,” said NSW Health deputy secretary Nigel Lyons.

Staff at Randwick have argued for some time that skullduggery was behind the dilapidation of their services, and that the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, which oversees both Randwick and Westmead, had been channelling funds away from Randwick.

Those in favour of moving cardiac services to Westmead have argued that technological improvements and preventive care have reduced the need for two cardiac sites, which are difficult to run and require a high turnover of cases to remain viable. About 400 to 500 children across the state present for these surgeries each year, said doctors at the July meeting. Some clinicians have argued that these numbers are too small to justify a split of services between the two sites.

Those against the amalgamation, namely the doctors at Randwick, point to a growing Sydney population and the longer travel times that would disadvantage patients if they had to travel to Westmead instead of Randwick.