The Inquiry into the safety and quality of health services at Northern Beaches Hospital has formally begun, with submissions now open to the public.
The NSW Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee Inquiry was requested by Health Minister Ryan Park following the death of Balgowlah toddler, Joe Massa, following a three hour wait without sufficient observations.
You can go to a direct submission link here – under how did you hear about the inquiry you can select “other – Manly Observer”.
The scope of the Inquiry will stretch back to the hospital’s commencement as a privately operated facility from October 2018, although a separate inquiry was held in 2019 and made its own recommendations relating to management and operation.
It will consider incidents at the hospital, including those identified as subject of serious adverse event reviews (SAERs); how the hospital responded, and the extent to which it implemented changes prompted by those incidents.
The upcoming inquiry will look at how the hospital supports patient and carer escalation, including the Recognise, Engage, Act, Call, Help is on its way (REACH) protocol – an initiative which was found to be insufficiently accessible in the case of Joe Massa.
Joe’s mother, Elouise Massa, asked for the community to please share their experiences at Northern Beaches Hospital to the Parliamentary Inquiry by 20 May (here).
“We ask you to stand with us in seeking justice, truth, and systemic reform,” Ms Massa told Manly Observer.
“When we first spoke out about Joe’s tragic and avoidable death at NBH, we called on every single person in the Northern Beaches community and beyond to stand with us to demand change. We are so very grateful and have been moved to tears by everyone who has contacted us and shared their own experiences at NBH.
“Your submissions are vitally important to ensuring members of the Committee conducting the Inquiry have a breadth of information available to help make accurate and informed decisions.
“If we don’t speak up and stand for what is right, just and good, we won’t affect change.”
The grieving mother said her son’s tragic death was not an isolated case and pointed to what she saw as a “wider crisis in our health system, where cost-cutting and corporate interests take precedence over patient safety. This cannot be allowed to continue.”
“We do not want one more parent to leave a hospital carrying only their belongings and not their child.,” she said.
“We do not want one more parent to leave a hospital carrying only their belongings and not their child.”
Independent Wakehurst MP, Michael Regan, has been announced as one of the inquiry committee members. He said he welcomed the Inquiry and encouraged community members to speak up.
“This inquiry is needed. The community, healthcare workers, and patients have raised serious concerns about the hospital’s management and performance. It is vital that these issues are properly scrutinised,” Mr Regan said.
A Healthscope spokesperson said they will fully cooperate with the requirements of the Inquiry.
“Northern Beaches Hospital (NBH) and Healthscope again offer our sincere condolences to the Massa family for the loss of their son, Joe,” they said.
“NBH is operated by a dedicated team of doctors, nurses and administrators whose absolute priority is always quality patient care. We again apologise that we did not meet that standard in the care of baby Joe Massa and are determined to learn from this to prevent this happening in any hospital.
“The case is subject to several inquiries and reviews, including a NSW Budget Estimates, a NSW Public Accounts inquiry, an independent review by the Clinical Excellence Council and a Coronial Inquest. NBH is actively participating and supporting each inquiry, and we unreservedly support the improvements proposed to the REACH protocol, that will now be known as Joe’s Rule.
“Our team at Northern Beaches Hospital do outstanding work every day providing high quality care for their community. The most recent Bureau of Health Information’s Healthcare Quarterly report shows NBH performing strongly compared to peer hospitals on a range of key clinical measures.
“The continued focus on NBH is impacting on our passionate and dedicated clinicians, who are being subjected to unwarranted aggression and abuse. This is unacceptable and we ask that they be treated respectfully.”
No timeline has been set for the inquiry, nor date set for when it is due back to Parliament. Submissions close on 20 May 2025.
More information on the Inquiry here.
You can go to a direct submission link here – under how did you hear about the inquiry you can select “other – Manly Observer”.
