Northern Beaches Hospital has been earmarked for the state’s first high volume planned surgery centre. But what does this mean for locals?
The short answer is – ‘we don’t know yet’ – a defining feature of the government’s dismantling of the complex public private partnership with Healthscope. Essentially, the aim of the new centre is to establish shorter elective surgery wait lists for everyone around the state by performing more surgeries at Northern Beaches Hospital on people from outside the area.
The High Volume Planned Surgery Centre will accept referrals from across the state, including Western Sydney, the Central Coast and the Illawarra, specialising in ophthalmology, orthopaedics, ear-nose-throat surgery, general surgery and gynaecology.
The announcement follows the hospital’s planned return to public ownership and management by NSW Health through Northern Sydney Local Health District by mid-2026. The hub will focus on day-only operations. Patients can be directly referred by their treating specialist or transferred from waitlists at their home facility. Detailed referral information will be released before the centre’s opening.
The Premier Chris Minns, and Health Minister Ryan Park joined local representatives at a press conference at the hospital yesterday where we asked they address whether better wait times for the state meant longer wait times for locals, and if Northern Beaches had the resources to meet the extra 5000 elective surgeries planned once the transition to a public hospital occurs in July this year.
The Health Minister responded: “What we’ve tried to do is look beyond the Northern Beaches, although those residents will be prioritised, obviously it’s their local hospital, and see how we can use that additional capacity. We believe that with some investment capital, investment into procedure rooms and operating theaters, there’s a point in time where we can bring another theatre probably online to be able to get through that churn.”
It is not yet clear on how local prioritisation would work, though local MPs say they have received assurances local won’t be worse off by welcoming others across the state.
How much will this cost?
Rough estimates are for this to cost $5 million to establish and $10 million annually to run.
And, while the general consensus is that increased capacity for surgeries across the state is a positive step forward, the announcement in the ongoing absence of information on the future of the many private specialists and private services on site continues to make Northern Beaches clinicians, and their many private patients, nervous.
The Northern Beaches Clinicians Alliance (NBCA) has warned that the NSW Government’s announcement – of which they were not made aware until the night before the press conference – raises serious questions about local access, transparency, and whether the needs of the Northern Beaches community are being sidelined.
“Today’s announcement begs the question of whether this decision is truly about improving healthcare on the Northern Beaches or about addressing pressures elsewhere in the system,” said NBCA spokesperson Dr David Dickison.
“For a long time, we were told decisions were still being worked through,” he added. “That has made today’s announcement unsettling for those delivering care on the ground.”
To date, no detailed clinical services plan, workforce modelling or transition framework has been released publicly.
“Clinicians are not opposed to change,” Dr Dickison said. “But change without detail creates anxiety for staff and for patients.”
“Our expectation is that it will continue to serve this community in practice, not just in name.”
A broader concern is the uncertainty leading to the relocation of private surgeries and highly specialised doctors further away from local residents with private health insurance.
But the Premier said former St Vincent’s chief executive David Swan is working on how the future of private services at Northern Beaches Hospital could operate.
“This hospital was built for the Northern Beaches,” Dr Dickison later added.
“Our expectation is that it will continue to serve this community in practice, not just in name.“
Wakehurst MP Michael Regan reiterated that he has secured assurances that Northern Beaches residents will retain priority access to surgery services.
“The surgical hub will use surplus surgical capacity and also bring further investment to our local hospital. The hub will focus on day only operations, meaning minimal pressure on in-patient beds. I have sought and received assurances from the Minister for Health that Northern Beaches residents will continue to have priority access and will retain first access to surgery services.”
“Northern Beaches Hospital going public means better integration into the broader public NSW health network,” Mr Regan said. “This network integration has so many benefits and is good for our community – better staffing, better patient record management and better patient treatment pathways.”
Federal Member for Mackellar Dr Sophie Scamps stated that “the changes must not mean that the people of the Northern Beaches face longer wait times for elective surgery,” a sentiment shared by her state Teal counterpart Jacqui Scruby.
Davidson MP Matt Cross sent Manly Observer a statement which read, “The Northern Beaches deserves a world-class hospital that offers both public and private care. Labor is not being transparent on whether choice in healthcare delivery will continue for Northern Beaches residents.This will potentially make it harder to retain and attract the best doctors, specialists and staff.Almost all residents on the Northern Beaches have private health insurance. The Labor Government needs to come clean on whether they will be able to access local treatment.”
Likewise Manly MP James Griffin issued public social posts reiterating the concerns of the Northern Beaches Clinicians Alliance.
What’s happening with the hospital changes generally?
All 1,800 existing Northern Beaches Hospital staff have been offered positions with NSW Health, with medical staff receiving offers from February 2026.
The 494-bed hospital returns to public management through Northern Sydney Local Health District following the reversal of the previous privatisation arrangement.
The dual model of care brought with it a series of complex issues that plagued the hospital from its 2018 opening. A 2019 parliamentary inquiry found problems with staffing structures, lack of transparency in hospital operations, and concerns about disparity between public and private patient care.
Issues intensified after the death of local toddler Joe Massa in September 2024, when the hospital was accused of failing to provide adequate treatment despite parents’ pleas for help. The tragedy led to the government’s decision to end the public-private partnership and ban the PPP model statewide.
Joe’s family remain strong supporters of the government’s intervention to dismantle the public private partnership. The cost to reverse the privatisation was $190 million.
Written by Kim Smee with Jack Kelly
