Northern Beaches hospital handed to NSW government, ending troubled public-private partnership

The Northern Beaches hospital in Sydney is going public, being handed from private operator Healthscope to NSW Health this week. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAPView image in fullscreenThe Northern Beaches hospital in Sydney is going public, being handed from private operator Healthscope to NSW Health this week. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAPHealthNorthern Beaches hospital handed to NSW government, ending troubled public-private partnershipTransition and legal handover of hospital from private operator Healthscope to NSW Health occurs at 7am on Wednesday Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Penry BuckleyTue 28 Apr 2026 10.01 EDTLast modified on Tue 28 Apr 2026 10.03 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleSydney’s Northern Beaches hospital is officially entering the public system, ending a troubled eight-year public-private partnership, although uncertainty about the future of private services remains.The transition and legal handover of the hospital from private operator Healthscope to New South Wales Health will occur at 7am on Wednesday. The New South Wales health minister, Ryan Park, said it was a “historic day”.“It’s been a challenge, but today is the start of a new hospital,” he told Guardian Australia.The issue of the quality of services was brought into focus after the death of two-year-old Joe Massa in September 2024 after a three-hour wait in the hospital’s emergency department.Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailHis parents, Elouise and Danny Massa, campaigned for the end of the public-private partnership, and were instrumental in the passing of Joe’s Law, which bans all future partnerships being imposed on the state’s acute care hospitals.Elouise Massa told Guardian Australia Wednesday’s handover was “one of the final pieces of the puzzle for us as Joe’s parents”.“I want to know that as a parent, as a carer, as an individual, as a patient, that my life can be saved and I have the highest chance of survival if I present to the hospital with an imminently life-threatening condition.“We’ve achieved a lot, but this definitely is such an important piece.”It costs $230 out-of-pocket to see a dermatologist. Many Australians go without – despite soaring skin cancer rates Read moreThe transition has seen more 1,800 Northern Beaches staff – including nurses, midwives and doctors – join NSW Health, with thousands of uniforms ordered and hours of annual, long service and sick leave entitlements transferred over.Wednesday’s changes will see patients discharged from the private system and readmitted under NSW Health. An operational command centre has been set up at the hospital to support the transition in its first days, but Park said there could be disruptions.Under the agreement, the entire 494-bed hospital is returning to public ownership, but the government has guaranteed private services will continue to be offered until June 2027. Park says the government has yet to finalise its plans for the future of private care – doctors have warned that without a co-located private facility there would be reduced patient choice.The premier, Chris Minns, said last week that a decision by the federal government to cut the private healthcare rebate for over 65s would increase strain on the public system, but Park said he was confident private hospital coverage would remain high in the northern beaches, which has one of the highest rates of private insurance in the…

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