Joe Massa: New law to ban public-private partnerships from hospitals after child death
Commercial operators may be barred from future involvement in a State’s acute hospitals after a toddler’s death at a controversial privately run facility.
“Joe’s Law” will be introduced in the NSW parliament to ban public-private partnerships from hospitals running emergency, surgical and inpatient services.
It follows the September death of two-year-old Joe Massa, who collapsed and died after he and his parents waited three hours in the emergency department at Sydney’s Northern Beaches Hospital.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The hospital, which opened in 2018 to replace two smaller public hospitals, runs under a controversial public-private partnership set up under the former coalition state government.
Premier Chris Minns on Thursday said Labor believed critical public services like hospitals should stay in public hands and be “safeguarded” from privatisation.
The legislation would bar governments from entering into another Northern Beaches Hospital-style arrangement to either build or operate an acute public hospital.
The proposed laws would honour Joe’s memory and legacy by protecting health facilities from any future privatisation agenda, Health Minister Ryan Park said.
“Our major and local community hospitals should be run by the people,” he said.
The two-year-old’s heart attack - caused by significant fluid loss - followed repeated failures by hospital staff to conduct basic observations or respond to his mother’s concerns.
The Massa family previously called for protection of public hospital care in law to prevent further privatisation and outsourcing, claiming the 488-bed hospital used flawed IT systems that differed from those used in other emergency wards.
A parliamentary inquiry into Northern Beaches Hospital was announced earlier in March to investigate serious incidents at the facility and how management responded.
The hospital is one of 38 Australian facilities run by Canadian-controlled Healthscope, which is owned by a multinational private investment fund.
The company’s chief executive previously vowed hospital management would ensure they learned from Joe’s tragic death to ensure it didn’t happen again.
Under the existing operating model for Northern Beaches Hospital, Healthscope has a contract with the NSW government to run its public wing until 2038.
