Jacqui Scruby Independent MP for Pittwater says a Parliamentary Inquiry into the Northern Beaches Hospital is a vital step forward in making the hospital publicly accountable and building pressure for it to be taken back into public hands.

‘We need full transparency on what is happening at Northern Beaches Hospital. This is the main provider of hospital care for public patients in the area - paid with public money to provide the highest quality care - and we need the hospital managers Healthscope to be publicly accountable. We need to understand exactly what is going on and a Parliamentary Inquiry is a vital step in this process.

‘After the devastating deaths of a Joe Massa and a newborn baby at the hospital, that have been widely reported, the least we owe these grieving families is to ensure there is public accountability on both their individual cases and the hospital as a whole. No-one should go through what they have gone through. We need to know how these families were failed, and we need to know how the community is being failed - internal investigations that aren’t at arm’s length are insufficient,’ said Ms Scruby.

‘Since the Massa family’s tragedy was reported, there’s been an outpouring of stories - those stories need to be told. Although we’ve had an audit, submissions aren’t public. These stories need to be in the public domain.

‘We must ensure that patients on the Northern Beaches are getting the health care they deserve. 

‘The public private partnership has inherent flaws and conflicts which are leading to disaster. Healthscope is reportedly facing financial challenges, which could make those risks higher. The government doesn’t have control over nursing ratios and other aspects of the public arm of the hospital. The system is stretched to breaking point. It’s just not good enough.

‘There are also questions about the financial management of the hospital, which are likely to bring into question whether the Healthscope has breached its contract.

‘The public private partnership that established the Northern Beaches Hospital is a failed Liberal experiment and we are having to live with the consequences. Now we need to fix this mess.

‘I joined fellow Northern Beaches MPs, Micheal Regan from Wakehurst, and Zali Steggall, Warringah, in calling for this inquiry and Dr Sophie Scamps, Mackellar, is demanding for the hospital to return to public hands now, something I would also support. 

‘It is a huge step forward that Minister Ryan Park has heard our calls and those of the devastated families and referred the inquiry to the Public Accounts Committee. This is a first, but vital step in ensuring we have high quality health care and restoring public trust in our hospital on the Northern Beaches.’

Background

In response to a joint letter to the Premier and Minister for Health Ryan Park from Jacqui Scruby, Michael Regan and Zali Steggall, Minister Park referred the Hospital to a Parliamentary Inquiry early on Thursday, 13 March 2025.

The inquiry will be in the hands of the Public Accounts Committee. 

You can read the Minister Park’s media release here: Parliamentary inquiry into safety and quality of Northern Beaches Hospital services