Update 21 February: The 26hr Strike Action planned for today has been SUSPENDED at all Healthscope Hospitals due to a last minute Fair Work Commission order.
Previously: Nurses and Midwives at Northern Beaches Hospital have just called a strike.
Hospital operator Healthscope were advised at closed of business of the industrial action this evening, 17 February, that members of the hospital’s NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) Northern Beaches Hospital Branch will take strike action for 24 hours starting this Friday morning, 21 February at 6am and ending Saturday morning at 8am. All emergency care will continue as usual.
Manly Observer was told by those intending to strike that they had heard next to nothing from their employer since their last strike action on 5 November and they continue to have serious concerns about the lack of staff to patient ratios at the hospital (unlike public hospitals) as well as pay and conditions below their public counterparts, including less annual leave, maternity leave and carers leave.
Enterprise Bargaining arrangements have been ongoing since May 2024.
The stop work action on Friday will commence at 7am Friday at the Northern Beaches Hospital grounds culminating in an extended rally for all Healthscope hospital nurses and midwives from 9am until Midday that day. Anyone can attend these events.
Is Healthscope for sale?
Those intending to participate in the strike say there is a growing sense of uncertainty and vulnerability at their workplace following news of Healthscope’s CEO Greg Horan’s departure this week, to be replaced by former Qantas and Boral executive Tino La Spina.
Healthscope, now owned by Canadian investor group Brookfield, replaced both their CEO and Chairman last week amid negotiations to refinance a debt pile that stretches to $1.6 billion, according to the Australian Financial Review.
The AFR suggests the Canadian consortium of investors are unlikely to want to inject more money into struggling Hospital operator, so some form of sale may be imminent. A bidding group led by David Di Pilla’s HMC Capital is circling, they further reported this week.
Northern Beaches hospital is both a public and private hospital, with all operations currently run by Healthscope under contract with the NSW Government.
We have requested comment from the NSW Health Minister Ryan Park on whether the NSW Government would consider buying the hospital operations back from the Healthscope. We had not provided enough time for a response at time of publication but will update here once one is received.
Healthscope would not comment on potential sales.
Why strike?
At the last strike on November 5 the NSWNMA NBH Union Representative said staff at the hospital “are being pushed beyond what is manageable.”
“The Northern Beaches Hospital is unique. We are a private hospital offering public health services, and this model was implemented by the former state government to replace the Manly and Mona Vale public hospitals. We have been excluded from the Safe Staffing ratios reform promised in the public health system. Our patients deserve the same level of care they would receive at any public hospital.”
In the previous strike Healthscope issued a statement that said they were disappointed with the industrial action and had continued with negotiations “in good faith” to “seek an agreement that’s fair and sustainable for our people and our hospitals.”
Manly Observer will seek further comment from all parties ahead of Friday’s action.
