Patients waiting for elective surgeries across Sydney and NSW will have the option of receiving their operations at a new hub at Northern Beaches Hospital, but the fate of private specialist services remains unclear, just months before the hospital’s transition into public hands.
Health Minister Ryan Park on Wednesday announced the government will establish the state’s first “high-volume planned surgery centre” at Northern Beaches Hospital when it takes control of the facility in the second half of the year.
The hub will perform up to 5000 additional surgeries at the hospital every year and prioritise high-demand specialties including orthopaedics, gynaecology and ophthalmology to help reduce surgical waiting lists.
“We will be able to offer thousands more patients each year the choice to have their surgery quicker, while providing some much-needed relief to hospitals around the state,” Park said.
The government estimates it will cost up to $5 million to start the hub, and a further $10 million per year to run.
Patients can choose to be transferred from a waitlist at their local hospital, or be referred directly by a specialist already accredited to work at Northern Beaches Hospital.
The 5000 additional surgeries would be more than double the 3519 performed at the hospital in the 12 months to September.
All 494 beds at the hospital will be available to public patients from mid-2026 after the NSW government terminated its contract with collapsed operator Healthscope to run both the public and private arms of the hospital for 20 years. The deal cost taxpayers $190 million.
Former St Vincent’s chief executive David Swan is investigating the future of private services at Northern Beaches Hospital, but the government is yet to confirm when it will announce its preferred model.
Australian Medical Association (NSW) president Dr Kathryn Austin said any investment in boosting surgical capacity was welcome, but the northern beaches community still needed certainty about the future of private services at the hospital.
Austin said doctors would continue to lobby the government to find an operator to run a co-located private hospital “so private services can continue alongside strong public services”.
She said this process would need to be finalised before Healthscope hands over the hospital, or an exemption provided to allow northern beaches residents with private health insurance to bypass the public waiting list.
Doctors working across public and private services at the hospital told a parliamentary inquiry last year that removing private services would result in services closing, longer surgical waitlists and increased pressure on the public system.
Opposition health spokeswoman Sarah Mitchell said turning the hospital into a “surgery factory” would force patients in western Sydney and regional NSW to travel further for lower-complexity surgeries, while leaving locals and staff in the dark about the future of specialised services at their hospital.
“Surgery waiting lists are exploding under Labor, and this is a desperate attempt to cover that up by shifting patients around the system,” Mitchell said.
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Angus Thomson is a reporter covering health at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
