Report snapshot: Northern Beaches Hospital
About this report
The Northern Beaches Hospital is a private hospital that also provides public hospital services. The hospital was built in 2018 and is operated by a private operator, Healthscope, in a public-private partnership with the NSW Government.
Healthscope is contracted to operate the public portion of the hospital until 2038.
This audit assessed how effectively and efficiently the Northern Beaches Hospital public-private partnership delivers public hospital services.
Conclusion
The Northern Beaches Hospital public-private partnership is not effectively delivering the best quality integrated health services and clinical outcomes to the Northern Beaches community and the State – the standard required under the arrangement and the key objective of the project deed.
The partnership is at risk of failure, with Healthscope requesting in November 2023, and again in December 2023, that the return of the public portion of the Northern Beaches Hospital be brought forward by 14 years. In its requests, Healthscope noted the risk to the viability of the Northern Beaches Hospital, citing insufficient funding, a lack of integration into the wider health network, and strained stakeholder relationships.
NSW Health effectively manages the contract with Healthscope day-to-day on behalf of the State, ensuring that public hospital activity at the Northern Beaches Hospital is provided at a lower cost than if the State operated the hospital. However, the public-private partnership structure creates tension between commercial imperatives and clinical outcomes.
The Northern Beaches Hospital has recorded concerning results for some hospital-acquired complications and has not taken sufficient actions to address some identified clinical safety risks.
The project deed, which governs the partnership, does not support the hospital’s integration into the local health district and broader health network. This has an impact on patient journeys and access to services for patients in the Northern Beaches. Additionally, Healthscope has no obligation or commitment to implement NSW Health initiatives – such as the Safe Staffing Levels initiative.
The Northern Beaches Hospital has achieved accreditation to ensure it meets national quality standards for hospital care but some quality and safety concerns remain.
Recommendations
The report made three recommendations:
- The NSW Government and NSW Health note the findings of the report and consider whether the Northern Beaches Hospital public-private partnership is the appropriate model to deliver the best quality integrated health care in the Northern Beaches region
- Healthscope should resolve:
a) safety and quality issues
b) system issues
c) reporting issues - NSW Health should consider issues raised for this public-private partnership for any future arrangement.
Further information
Please contact Akriti Mehra, Acting Chief of Staff, on 9275 7347 or by email.