The NSW Government has announced the full acquisition of Northern Beaches Hospital for approximately $190 million, ending a troubled public-private partnership that has dominated local health debate since the facility opened in 2018.
The deal follows months of negotiations after Healthscope offered to return the hospital to public hands in April this year, with the company’s parent entities entering receivership in May. A NSW Health transition team has been working alongside hospital staff since September to prepare for the takeover.
The hospital will move to the direct control of the Northern Sydney Local Health District by mid-2026.
Under the agreement:
- The entire 494-bed hospital will return to public ownership
- All clinical and support staff currently working at Northern Beaches Hospital will be offered jobs by NSW Health at the facility, and
- Staff entitlements will transfer across from Healthscope to NSW Health.
At this morning’s press conference, Minister for Health, Ryan Park outlined this was the first hurdle in a complicated and complex takeover of the hospital. His primary aim was to guarantee and assure staff of their future at the hospital.
The following hurdles will be how to integrate the hospital’s IT system into the NSW health system and the operating model of the hospital with consideration of access to private health services, which Minister Park recognised was very important to the community and clinicians. However, when asked about the details of the future provision of private health services, such as private maternity, at Northern Beaches Hospital, the Minister couldn’t define whether or how those services would be available or operate at the hospital. Instead he said in the coming months NSW Health will engage and work closely with clinicians on the best model of care at the hospital.
“I didn’t expect to take over this hospital in this term of parliament,” Minister Park said.
“What should’ve taken three years, has taken a few months in coming to this point.”
The announcement represents a victory for Balgowlah mother Elouise Massa, whose relentless campaign followed the death of her two-year-old son, Joe, at the hospital in September 2024 after what the family described as systemic failures in care. Her advocacy led to sweeping reforms, including legislation banning future public-private hospital partnerships, known as “Joe’s Law”.
Elouise was at this morning’s press conference and praised the government for their swift action.
“We are all standing here today because of Joe’s love. It is Joe’s love that has given Danny and I the fierce determination to stand here, to advocate on behalf of the community, because we don’t want anyone else going through what we have gone through.
“I applaud the government for working tirelessly and our local independent members for working tirelessly to ensure that this deal is made and it has been made swiftly. We know that Joe’s case was not isolated. We know that there have been systemic failures in the emergency department at Northern Beaches hospital, and now today, the government is making a monumental step in the right direction to put patient safety at the forefront and to restore community confidence in our local hospital.”
She added that the government’s move will make the hospital safer for the community.
“The reality is that when this transition comes to fruition next year, if anybody enters the emergency department at Northern Beaches hospital, they will have a far greater chance of survival because it is a publicly run emergency department compared to when it was under a public-private partnership where people are more interested in fattening up the back pocket of its shareholders,” Elouise said.
The government’s announcement has been hailed as a victory for the people of the Northern Beaches by Wakehurst MP Michael Regan, who has fought alongside the Massa family, as well as, MP Jacqui Scruby to returning the region’s only major hospital to NSW Health.
NSW Nurses and Midwives welcome the news
The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA) has welcomed the news after what they described as months of uncertainty for staff.
“It has been an extremely unsettling and stressful time for staff working at Northern Beaches Hospital following months of public scrutiny,” NSWNMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish said in a statement.
“We have been given assurances no nurse and midwife at Northern Beaches Hospital will lose their job and leave entitlements will be transferred when the hospital transitions to the public system.
“This is much-needed certainty for our hardworking and dedicated nurses and midwives. We are pleased to see Healthscope and the state government working collaboratively to reach an outcome and provide job security to the thousands of staff employed at Northern Beaches Hospital.”
Ms Candish added the union strongly opposed the public-private partnership and warned it would be detrimental to the community but no one listened.
“NSWNMA members at Northern Beaches Hospital have been raising staffing and safety concerns for years,” she explained.
“Every step of the way they have advocated for safe patient care and quality health services, and they never gave up the fight to have the hospital taken out of private hands.
“The uncertainty felt has only worsened since the Healthscope receivership, so for nurses and midwives at Northern Beaches Hospital, transitioning to the public system gives them hope for stability, transparency and accountability.
“We also look forward to the implementation of the public system’s nurse-to-patient ratios which will provide safer workplaces and quality care that our Northern Beaches community deserves.”
How we got here
Northern Beaches Hospital was established in 2018 with Healthscope contracted, under a public-private partnership, to deliver public and private health services for 20 years. At the conclusion of the contract, the plan was to hand back public services to the NSW Government, while Healthscope continued to provide private hospital services.
That changed after the community raised concerns about staffing shortages, long wait times and the complex dual model of care that sees public patients treated alongside patients under the same roof. The issue came to the fore when Balgowlah toddler Joe Massa died following care at the Frenchs Forest facility. Healthscope’s management of the hospital has also faced two parliamentary inquiries and an audit that determined it was not a health model that should be repeated.
Healthscope offered to hand the public component back (at a price) intending to sell its private share. Its parent entities then went into receivership on 26 May 2025.
The Premier confirmed this morning that it had reached a deal with Healthscope and will pay $190 million for the hospital, which will transition in 2026.
“The building itself and the accounting value of the assets is close to $190 million, that has been the basis by which we have been able to reach an agreement about what the asset is worth,” NSW Treasurer, Daniel Mookhey explained at this morning’s press conference.
“Importantly, what we are not paying for is any fictional profits that the Northern Beaches Hospital owners expected to earn between now and 2035 or now and 2058 and that’s an important point here. We are effectively returning the money that they put in to build the buildings. We’re getting that back, because we’re getting the buildings back.”
Senior doctors concern over access to private health services
Senior medical staff have warned, however, that losing the private arm of the hospital could force residents to travel to North Shore Private Hospital or elsewhere in Sydney, and may result in the departure of highly skilled specialists and extended waitlists.
AMA NSW president, Dr Kathryn Austin said not only was the Northern Beaches community promised they would have access to public and private health services, but doctors were also promised they would have options in the way they delivered care to Northern Beaches patients for at least two decades.
“We know there must be change, but there are real fears many staff, who have been providing excellent care to the community for the past seven years, will now leave,” Northern Beaches Hospital head of maternity, Dr David Jollow explained.
“Senior medical staff agree that Northern Sydney Local Health District should run the public component of the hospital, but more than 200 senior medical staff passed a resolution recently seeking the continuation of private services for the community.”
Member for Pittwater, Jacqui Scruby said, at this morning’s press conference, with over 70 per cent of her constituents holding private health insurance, she recognised the importance of private services at the hospital.
“I will continue to work with everyone in the community, including the private clinicians, and I note that recently, the Member for Wakehurst and I held a round table with over 10 private clinicians to understand what their concerns were, and we ensured that their concerns were heard by the Health Minister’s office,” she said.
Private services currently offered at Northern Beaches Hospital include cardiothoracic surgery and emergency cardiac interventions; neurosurgery; robotic joint and prostate cancer surgery; advanced cancer treatments, including radiotherapy and breast reconstruction; private obstetrics, fertility treatments, and paediatric surgery; mental health services, chronic pain management, and trauma surgery and interventional radiology, advanced endoscopy, and oral/maxillofacial surgery.
However, for local MPs such as Wakehurst Independent Michael Regan, the threat of losing access to essential services is premature, given the government assurances and the fact that every public hospital has private services integrated into their operations. Mr Regan added that it is important residents remember that the public hospital will permanently remain and have full resources and staff in line with a Level 5 health facility.
“This is a victory for the people of the Northern Beaches who were promised a level 5 hospital with additional beds in exchange for closing Mona Vale and Manly which had reached the end of their useful life,” he said.
“We will work with the government on ensuring that private services are maintained alongside the public. It co-exists at other hospitals so no reason why it can’t here.”
“The operating model for the hospital, including the private public split, has not been decided. I want to see the best aspects of the current Northern Beaches Hospital maintained, including private services, while the parts that have been squeezed under the privatised model are finally properly resourced.
“The previous Mona Vale and Manly hospitals were Level 4. With the opening of Northern Beaches we got a level 5 hospital. We need to maintain and build on this legacy. I have received a commitment from the Minister for Health that the hospital will remain a Level 5 facility and that there will be no reduction in bed numbers at the hospital.”
“Since day one in this job I have had staff and community members knocking on my door raising concerns about the hospital. The lack of transparency and accountability around the operation of our local public hospital, being run by Healthscope, has been a disgrace. With the hospital coming into public hands, we enter a new chapter.”
Health Minister Ryan Park this morning said this process has involved “undoing one of the most complex privatisation arrangements in the state’s history.”
“We have worked with an urgency and speed to provide certainty for the community, patients and staff. We thank the staff for their hard work and cooperation as we continue to work through the transition.
“This agreement does not mark the end – but the beginning – of the transition of a major hospital into the public health system.
“I want to be upfront that this will not be without its challenges, but patient safety sits at the very heart of this handback to public ownership.
“Let me be clear, clinical and support staff will have the opportunity to continue to work at Northern Beaches Hospital and will be offered employment with NSW Health.”
The acquisition ends a deal originally set to run until 2038, marking a significant shift in how acute hospital services will be delivered on the Northern Beaches.
Written by Avi Vince and Kim Smee
