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Northern Beaches Hospital opens on Tuesday. Here's what you need to know

By Jenny Noyes

October 29, 2018 — 8.09am

This week, the brand new Northern Beaches Hospital finally opens its doors after more than three years of construction and roadworks that has transformed the sleepy suburb of Frenchs Forest – and will continue to do so as development around the hospital proceeds in coming years.

The Northern Beaches Hospital is a development decades in the making.Credit: Brook Mitchell

So what does this $600 million, 488 bed, privately operated facility change for the people of Sydney's northern beaches and beyond? Here's what you need to know about the hospital ahead of its opening on Tuesday, October 30.

New hospital facilities

The hospital is a Level 5 facility, which is one level above Manly and Mona Vale hospitals and one level below the top (Sydney's Level 6 hospitals are Royal North Shore, Royal Prince Alfred, Prince of Wales, St George, St Vincent's, Nepean and the children's hospitals at Westmead and Randwick).

It will be similar in size to Royal North Shore Hospital, and is expecting about 2000 patients, staff and visitors on a typical day, including 70,000 visits to the emergency department a year.

The facilities include:

a 50-space emergency department,
a helipad,
14 operating theatres and six surgical suites,
intensive and critical care units,
maternity and paediatrics wards,
inpatient mental health facilities,
1400 car spaces.

What's nearby?

For now – not a lot. If you're looking for a feed, you'll be making do with the hospital cafe (which promises made-to-order food, including fresh salads) – or taking a 20-minute hike to Forestway Shopping Centre, where there's a McDonald's, sushi, and The Old Civic Cafe & Diner among other options. Or order in.

Eventually, The Forest High School site next to the hospital will be sold and become the site of the new town centre. But that's years away.

The mayor of the Northern Beaches Council, Michael Regan, expects work on the town centre to begin within two years.

But that depends on the timing of the sale of the Forest High site, and construction of a multi-storey new school on a large car park next to Warringah Aquatic Centre.

Getting there

Public transport options are fairly slim, with Chatswood the nearest train station – but more than 1200 additional weekly bus services have been introduced across the northern beaches to improve access to the hospital, including a number of new routes connecting Manly, Seaforth, Belrose, Brookvale and Narraweena to the hospital.

Drivers can expect to pay for parking as per the NSW government standard for hospitals: first 15 minutes free, then between $6 and $18 depending on the length of parking time.

Northern Beaches Hospital precinct bus map.

What if I don't have private health insurance?

While the Northern Beaches Hospital is privately operated - by Healthscope, Australia's second-largest private hospital operator - it will serve public patients alongside private ones.

Healthscope chief executive Gordon Ballantyne at the new Northern Beaches Hospital in Frenchs Forest.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

There is no minimum number of beds for public or private patients, but the expected split of beds is about 60/40 with public patients in the majority.

The NSW government has paid the private consortium a total of $2.14 billion for the duration of the contract – until 2038. That includes $600 million for the construction of the hospital and $400 million for road upgrades, but the total fee will cover the operation of the hospital for public patients.

What happens to Manly and Mona Vale hospitals – and their patients?

Manly Hospital will close on the same day the new hospital opens: October 30.

All existing Manly patients – about110 people – will be transported to the Northern Beaches Hospital that day in what's been described by medical director Louise Message as a "military operation".

"It's involving so many different groups of people from NSW Traffic to ambulance, patient transport, volunteers, doctors and nurses ... we have a schedule where every four minutes some action is taking place," Ms Message said.

The following day, about 80 patients from Mona Vale Hospital will be transported to the Northern Beaches Hospital.

But while Manly Hospital is closing on October 30, Mona Vale will continue to operate, becoming a high-level rehabilitation and sub-acute public hospital. More than 250 staff will deliver inpatient rehabilitation and aged healthcare services, along with palliative care and community health.

Mona Vale's acute services, including emergency, will move (with those 80 patients) to the new Northern Beaches Hospital.

Instead of the emergency deparment, a new 24-hour Urgent Care Centre will open at Mona Vale to treat minor injuries and illnesses.