Serious flaws at hospital where kids died after waiting
Alex Mitchell |
The deaths of two children at a controversy-plagued hospital have sparked an emotional exchange over government inaction.
A scathing report from the NSW auditor-general accused the operator of Sydney’s Northern Beaches Hospital of failing to meet healthcare standards and not taking actions to stop clinical safety risks.
It is the hospital where toddler Joe Massa collapsed and died in September 2024 after a three-hour wait in the emergency department.
Newborn Harper Atkinson also died after treatment at the same facility, with her mother believing an hour-long wait for surgery contributed to the death.
NSW auditor-general Bola Oyetunji’s report demands hospital operator Healthscope fix safety and quality, system and reporting issues.
It calls on the government to consider if the public-private model at Northern Beaches Hospital is the appropriate way forward.
Healthscope went to the government in 2023 to terminate their lengthy contract to run the public hospital early, citing insufficient funding and poor health network integration among other reasons.
But ministers denied the operator had done so out of the goodness of its heart and instead claimed the firm was chasing financial gain.
They further denied the failure to intervene had put lives at risk.
“We understand there have been a number of serious issues, we in no way are trying to dilute that,” Health Minister Ryan Park said.
“But I’ve also got to make sure we are doing this in a responsible way and to simply say we could rip up the contract (and) hand over hundreds of millions of dollars is not possible.”
The auditor-general found concerning levels of hospital-acquired complications, including birth trauma.
Electronic clinical systems were also presenting safety risks and the medical record systems are not connected well, causing medical decisions to be made without full information.
Teenager James Tsindos died at a separate Healthscope-run hospital in Melbourne in 2021 after an anaphylatic reaction.
His family said they were left with questions about his death and an inquest is probing whether his medical care was appropriate.
Since the two deaths at Northern Beaches, Premier Chris Minns has moved to ban public-private healthcare partnerships.
The report found the hospital’s partnership created a tension between clinical outcomes and profits.
Healthscope used the report’s release to repeat its offer to return the hospital to government hands.
The government has set up a task force to run the ruler over a potential sale but leaders have repeatedly stated they will not deliver Healthscope a windfall.
“(The report) makes clear the current public-private partnership at Northern Beaches Hospital is severely challenged,” chief executive Tino La Spina said.
“I want to reiterate that patient care will be put first, and we are not seeking any windfall gain from this process.”
Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said exiting the contract early would be particularly tricky.
Healthscope operates 38 hospitals across the country and remains contracted to operate Northern Beaches Hospital until 2038.
But financial turmoil at the Canadian-controlled firm has placed its future in doubt.
Harper’s parents detailed the ordeal of losing their child, with mother Leah forced to wait for an on-call team to arrive to begin an emergency caesarean section.
Ms Pitman said she was “incredibly angry” she had been forced to wait, rather than receiving immediate treatment that she felt could have saved her daughter.
Northern Beaches Hospital does not run a 24-hour theatre on weekend nights, with an on-call team required to attend within 30 minutes to meet legal and ethical guidelines.G
AAP
