00:00Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Health.
00:02The Calvary Martyr Inquiry report paints a damning picture of private profit trumping good public outcomes
00:08when it comes to a critical health facility, with doctors fainting, maggots falling from the ceiling
00:14and families taking legal action over mould that may have caused the death of a loved one.
00:18The consensus recommendation of the committee is that the New South Wales government should end the privatisation arrangement
00:23and bring the hospital under complete public ownership.
00:26You did this for the Northern Beaches Hospital. What is your government's plan for the Calvary Martyr?
00:32Call the Minister.
00:33I thank the member for her question and her interest in this area.
00:38I also want to acknowledge the advocacy of the local member, Sonia Hornery,
00:43and all of the Hunter and Newcastle MPs who have talked to me about this issue.
00:49It is an important issue.
00:50I want to make it very clear from the beginning that this is a different situation to what we're dealing
00:57with
00:57with the Northern Beaches.
00:59What we have in this PPP entered into some time ago and we're still some years to go
01:05is around the facilities management and infrastructure of the hospital and the maintenance around that.
01:12So it's not the operator. The operator for the house's awareness is Calvary
01:16and they, like the government, are also frustrated around what is happening there.
01:21My focus around this is on three specific areas.
01:25One, we've got to make sure that we can continue to deliver high quality health care services
01:30through Calvary to the people of that part of the Hunter region.
01:35That's first and foremost.
01:36It's got to be safe.
01:38It's got to be high quality and it's got to work for both staff, patients and the community.
01:43The second objective is that I've got a responsibility to hold the contractors to account.
01:49I've got a responsibility to do that based on the third issue,
01:54which is to make sure we spend taxpayers' money wisely.
01:58Now, Mr Speaker, I know some comments from the opposition in the last 24 hours or so about this.
02:05Under their plan, they want me to let the private contractors off the hook.
02:12Off the hook.
02:13They have put out a media release with an uncanny level of stupidity.
02:20And that's a big call.
02:22That's a big call.
02:22That's a big call.
02:23That's a big call.
02:24It is.
02:24Let me trump this afternoon.
02:25When I read it, when I read it, what was interesting...
02:28What national is it?
02:28...type, letterhead from the shadow minister.
02:31No contact name or number down there.
02:33And I thought, I bet why.
02:34I bet why.
02:35Mr Speaker, it had that...
02:38The private operator said, no issue.
02:40We offered the government this for a measly $2.
02:45Why don't the government take it?
02:47Well, Mr Speaker, I'll just try and explain this.
02:50I can't draw it, but I'll try and explain it.
02:53Because if we did that, there would be a small problem.
02:58And that would be the government would be liable for the incredible infrastructure backlog and maintenance backlog that we would
03:07then have to fund.
03:09So, Mr Speaker, it's not $2.
03:11It's not $2.
03:13It's not $2.
03:13It's tens of millions of dollars.
03:15Yeah.
03:15And I've got a responsibility, just as we did with the Treasurer and the Premier in the Northern Beaches, to
03:20make sure that we can run those health services as well as we can.
03:29To make sure that we hold the contractor who went into the contract to account on their end, and to
03:39make sure that taxpayers' money is going to be used wisely.
03:43That is my single focus.
03:45As late as this week, as late as earlier this week, I convened a meeting with New South Wales Health
03:51and New South Wales Treasury to continue our discussions around where we're up to in relation to working through this
03:59contract.
04:00But it is extremely complex.
04:02I understand how important it is to try and get this issue sorted.
04:07It's why we have already intervened into this contract on multiple times.
04:13We have engaged and are now completing the cladding that will be fully completed next year, but we are completing
04:21the cladding as a part of stepping into the contract, even though we were not responsible to do so.
04:27We are regularly meeting with staff because I was not satisfied with the level of communication back to staff about
04:35what was happening.
04:35Mr Speaker, when issues such as mould and other issues like that are identified in the nature of the building,
04:42then we are trying to get them rectified as quickly as possible.
04:46Approximately 8,960 patients on the last quarter moved through the ED at Calvary.
04:55That is a large number.
04:56I understand the challenge up there right now, but I've got a responsibility to work through this in a methodical
05:02way.
05:03I can assure Hunter MPs and the community that we will continue to keep them briefed and up to date
05:09as best we can.
05:10We are actively working through this contract.
05:14We understand the impact it's having on staff and patients.
05:17And we will continue to do what we can to ensure Calvary can be supported in delivering the very best
05:25health services for the people of that part of the Hunter.
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