Parliamentary Inquiry Calls For Mater To Be Made Public

 BY MAXWELL HARVEY

A parliamentary inquiry into mould and pest issues at Newcastle's Calvary Mater hospital has called for the termination of the hospital's public-private partnership (PPP).

The report, which documents allegations of corruption, cover-ups, and maintenance failures, recommends ownership be transferred to NSW Health immediately.

Health Services Union Secretary Gerard Haynes has backed the report's findings, calling on the state government to enact its recommendations.

"The next steps are obviously for the government to consider the recommendations from the upper house inquiry," he said. 

"We are firmly of the view that public hospitals should be in public hands and controlled by the government.

"[The recommendation] moves away from the conflicting interests between he private sector and the public sector."

Allegations submitted to the inquiry date back to 2007, mostly relating to the continuous presence of mould in the hospital's cancer ward.

It is alleged that the presence of mould caused or contributed to the deaths of several people across almost two decades.

A review conducted by the Mater itself indicated that at least 16 invasive fungal infections occurred between 2019 and 2024, with further cases recorded in the subsequent two years.

About 120 families have registered for a class-action lawsuit into the alleged mould-related deaths.

At the start of the year, media highlighted continuous issues with mould and maggots in the Mater's cancer and ICU wards, prompting the state government to intervene.

NSW Health then announced $12.5 million for emergency remediation work, replacing cladding to prevent water leaks into the hospital.

Health Minister Ryan Park announced this week the external cladding replacement at the hospital had been completed, though broader remediation works are still underway.

Mr Haynes said the failure of the Calvary Mater sends a clear message that public-private partnerships are no longer viable.

"A lot of work has been done to get to this point," he added. 

"I think the recommendations are good and so it's now a matter for the government to be able to consider those recommendations and hopefully apply them as soon as possible."

Newcastle's Calvary Mater Hospital. Picture supplied. 

Singleton Hospital GP Exodus

BY JARROD MELMETH

Four General Practitioners have walked out of Singleton Hospital citing unsafe workplace practices. 

The exodus of GP's comes at a time when rural and region health services are under the microscope of a parliamentary inquiry looking into health outcomes and access to health and hospital services.

NSW Health Services Union Secretary Gerard Hayes says there needs to be a new strategy to engage health workers to rural and regional areas.

"Until we get to see more clinicians and more health practitioners regionally, there will be people just transferring to the city. This would take away real serious clinical support out of that region," Mr Hayes said.

"This is a very scary situation if you have a loved one or a family member who requires emergency support and there is a drain in terms of medical support. That becomes very, very problematic, and noting that Singleton is an hour away from Newcastle, every minute counts when a medical emergency arises." 

In a recent submission to the parliamentary inquiry, the Rural Doctors Association of NSW says that staff retention is the major issue affecting the workforce.

"Attempting to care for patients in rural areas has become less and less attractive over the past 2 to 3 decades. The lived experience is that there is a lack of understanding within New South Wales Health about how the day-to-day business of patient care gets done."

"At the point of care, there are many issues which appear to make the job more difficult and slow. When problems are identified the response is glacial or non-existent."

"Doctors, nurses and administrative staff working on patient care in the hospitals feel constantly undervalued and frustrated. This problem needs to be addressed because at the moment staff in training have the impression the work is onerous and under paid. Attraction suffers severely. Those working in the area are leaving.," The submission said.

Executive Director of Rural & Regional Health Services Susan Heyman says the community can rest assure that Singleton Hospital continues to have medical coverage.

"There are currently nine GPs actively participating in the on-call roster at Singleton Hospital, and we are grateful for their continued dedication. We are investigating options with locum agencies to better support those GPs who continue to provide their services to the hospital," Ms Heyman said.

"Recruiting doctors and nursing staff to regional areas is a challenge faced not only by Hunter New England Health, but all of Australia." 

Singleton Hospital. Source: Singleton Hospital Auxiliary