An explosive and damning Parliamentary inquiry has unanimously recommended the Calvary Mater Hospital in Newcastle be brought into public hands, like the Northern Beaches Hospital, and for all other existing NSW Health public-private partnerships to be scrutinised to protect patient and staff safety.
These are two of the key recommendations to come out of the Inquiry into management, maintenance and operational issues at the Calvary Mater Hospital, chaired by Greens spokesperson for Health and former GP Dr Amanda Cohn MLC, with the final report tabled in the NSW Parliament today.
Dr Cohn said the revelations shared by staff and whistleblowers were shocking.
“We heard about maggots falling from the ceiling onto a patient, nurses funneling rainwater into garbage bins during the night, a doctor fainting during surgery because of high humidity in the operating theatre, and explosive allegations of falsified maintenance records,” Dr Cohn said.
“All these problems could have been prevented. Hospital management and the NSW government knew about these issues for years, and failed to address them.
“The only solution that will fix the infrastructure issues, and restore the trust of staff and the community, is for the ownership and management of the hospital to be brought into public hands.
“The Minns Labor Government already conceded the PPP model doesn’t work when it bought back the Northern Beaches Hospital, but it has failed to take that same decisive action for Newcastle.”
For years, staff raised maintenance issues at the Calvary Mater, without an adequate response. Dr Cohn said the issues only started to be taken seriously when whistleblowers exposed the problems in the media.
Luke Carroll was a project manager for Honeywell at the hospital and felt compelled to speak out about the neglect and bandaid solutions he witnessed.
“It was very dark days when I first realised how serious the maintenance issue was in the cancer ward,” he said. “I was shocked and, naively perhaps, thought Honeywell would do the right thing. Instead, I was interrogated, confined to my home, and ultimately I lost my career.”
“I knew well for those months that they kept me and their secret hidden, that people were likely to be dying in the cancer ward of the Mater. The weight of that overwhelmed me and I eventually had to act.”
Dr Cohn said patients and healthcare workers should not have to rely on whistleblowers, tragedies or parliamentary inquiries before governments act on serious safety concerns.
Dee Spoljaric and Camilla Smith, on behalf of nurses at the Mater said “We have waited far too long for decisive action. Our optimism now rests on the recommendations of the Inquiry being implemented in full. We would be deeply disappointed if this opportunity for reform was ignored.”
The inquiry also heard from staff at other NSW services that operate under a private-public partnership model, including Orange and Bathurst Hospitals and the Northern NSW Helicopter Rescue Service. The report recommends further investigation of these services.
“The findings of the inquiry are further proof that the public-private partnership model has failed NSW patients, healthcare workers and communities. Every community deserves a public hospital that puts patients first, not private operators,” Dr Cohn said.
“The Minns Labor must urgently bring the ownership and management of the Calvary Mater Hospital into public hands and review other services operating under the private-public partnership model – before the next tragedy, not after.”
whistleblower Luke Carroll who was a Senior Project Manager for Honeywell at the hospital
“It was very dark days when I first realised how serious the maintenance issue was in the cancer ward. I was shocked and, naively perhaps, thought Honeywell would do the right thing. Instead, I was interrogated, confined to my home, and ultimately I lost my career.”
“I knew well for those months that they kept me and their secret hidden, that people were likely to be dying in the cancer ward of the Mater. The weight of that overwhelmed me and I eventually had to act.”
“It was a very difficult time for me, but on the other side of the ledger, the good side, people helped me to get this story where it belonged, and I thank XD Law, Bilbie Faraday Harrison, the Newcastle Herald, and ultimately the Parliamentary Inquiry.”
“It won’t help the people who died, but I hope it’s some comfort to their families, and the other victims, to finally be told the truth about what happened in that hospital.”
Calvary Mater Newcastle, Dee Spoljaric and Camilla Smith said:
“Nurses and staff at Calvary Mater Newcastle are incredibly grateful to Amanda Cohn and all members of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee for giving nurses, patients and staff the opportunity to tell the truth about what has been happening at the Mater.
“Our gratitude extends to every patient, family member and staff member who had the courage to speak. Their voices have been instrumental in exposing issues that could no longer be ignored.
“Many of us have spent years raising concerns about the condition of our hospital and the impact it has had on both staff and patients. The Inquiry gave us hope that those concerns were finally being taken seriously.
“We care about our patients, our colleagues and the future of this hospital. We sincerely thank the Committee for listening.
“The evidence presented throughout the Inquiry painted a clear picture of years of infrastructure failures and governance issues. We are hopeful the final report will deliver strong recommendations that finally drive meaningful and lasting change.
“We have waited far too long for decisive action. Our optimism now rests on the recommendations of the Inquiry being implemented in full. We would be deeply disappointed if this opportunity for reform was ignored.
This is a crucial opportunity to restore confidence in The Mater. We hope everyone involved will embrace the Inquiry’s recommendations and work together to deliver the safe hospital our staff and community deserves.”
