Northern Beaches Hospital: Probe begins into safety and quality of health services
Northern Beaches Hospital is being put under the microscope as a state parliamentary committee begins its probe into safety and quality of services at the troubled facility.
NSW
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The troubled Northern Beaches Hospital is now the focus of a state parliamentary inquiry into safety and the quality of the services it provides.
Health Minister Ryan Park has referred complaints about the facility at Frenchs Forest to the parliament’s influential Public Accounts Committee.
It will have a particular focus on the Emergency Department, including services it provides to vulnerable patients and children.
The inquiry comes soon after the deaths of a toddler, Joe Massa from North Balgowlah and a newborn baby “Harper” from the northern beaches.
And the committee’s invitation for public submissions on Thursday kicked off on the same day that the state government announced that it would introduce a Bill to parliament prohibiting future public-private partnerships at hospitals that provide emergency services and acute care.
Private firm, Healthscope, has a contract with the government to run public services at Northern Beaches Hospital.
The inquiry has been welcomed by two northern beaches’ independent state MPs — Michael Regan (Wakehurst) and Jacqui Scruby (Pittwater) — who have been lobbying for more scrutiny on the quality of care and how patients are kept safe.
Both MPs also backed the ban on future public/private partnerships for hospitals in NSW.
“The establishment of this parliamentary inquiry is a significant moment for our community on the northern beaches,” Mr Regan said.
“Now, more than ever, we need more scrutiny of the Northern Beaches Hospital. More scrutiny of the private operator Healthscope, more scrutiny of the contract with the NSW Government, more scrutiny of individual’s experiences and more scrutiny of structural problems they expose.”
Ms Scruby said the recent infant deaths at the hospital had “shocked us all”.
“In the wake of these deaths, community confidence in the hospital is deteriorating.
“Northern Beaches residents have every right to expect the same quality of services as other comparable public hospitals.”
Committee chair, and Strathfield Labor MP, Jason Yat-Sen Li, said the inquiry would examine the extent to which the private delivery of public health services had impacted quality and effectiveness at the hospital.
“While we won’t be investigating specific incidents, we want to hear your experiences and we encourage you to have your say about how things could be improved,” he said.
The findings of a separate “performance audit” of the hospital, by the NSW Auditor General, were expected to be released soon.
Submissions to the inquiry are open until May 20. Public hearings will also be scheduled ahead of a final committee report and a response from the state government.
For more information on making a submission to the inquiry click here.
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Originally published as Northern Beaches Hospital: Probe begins into safety and quality of health services
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