From July 1st 2026, up to an extra 5,000 surgeries will be performed at the hospital each year through the newly established Planned Surgery Centre.
''It will focus on high-demand specialties such as ophthalmology, orthopaedics, ear, nose and throat (ENT), general surgery and gynaecology, to help reduce surgical wait lists while easing demand on hospitals across the state and giving patients more choices in their care.'' a release by the government states
Patients will be referred to the Planned Surgery Hub from some of the busiest areas across NSW, including Western Sydney, the Central Coast and the Illawarra.
Patients can be directly referred to the Centre by their treating specialist if they are accredited to work at Northern Beaches Hospital or can choose to be transferred from a waitlist at their ‘home’ facility.
Information on how to be referred to the NBH will be released ahead of the Centre’s opening.
The new Planned Surgery Centre builds on the Government’s decision to return Northern Beaches Hospital to public ownership later this year, reversing one of the state’s most damaging privatisation experiments.
The hospital will come under the management of Northern Sydney Local Health District and part of NSW Health by mid-2026 - recent reports have stated April 29 2026 will be the handover date.
Under the agreement for transition of the hospital:
- The entire 494-bed hospital will return to public ownership
- All clinical and support staff currently working at Northern Beaches Hospital have been offered jobs by NSW Health at the facility, and
- Staff entitlements to annual, long service and sick leave will transfer across from Healthscope to NSW Health.
See January 2026 report: Northern Beaches Hospital to Transition to Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) on April 29 2026 - Dee Why Medicare Urgent Care Clinic Now open - Bed Block Surges in NSW Hospitals - ED performance improves but more to do: BHI reports
The Government announced NSW Health has appointed health sector leader David Swan to provide independent expert advice on future private health opportunities at Northern Beaches Hospital.
More than 1,800 existing Northern Beaches Hospital staff - including nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and support staff - have been offered roles with NSW Health at Northern Beaches, with offers to medical staff commencing in February 2026.
The Minns Government stated it 'continues to repair the damage caused by the former Coalition Government’s failed privatisation agenda, which also included the attempted privatisation of hospitals at Maitland, Wyong, Goulburn, Shellharbour and Bowral'.
The passage of Joe’s Law now protects NSW communities from future privatisation of public hospitals.
See March 2025 report: Minns Government Announces 'Joe's Law' to End Private-Public Hospital Model As Inquiry into Safety and Quality of Services at Northern Beach Hospital Opens for Submissions
Elouise and Danny Massa, parents of Joe, speaking at the community forum organised by Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby and Wakehurst MP Michael Regan. Photo: Michael Mannington OAM of Community Photography/PON
NSW Premier Chris Minns said on Wednesday:
“This will improve access to healthcare by speeding up planned surgeries across the state.
“By adding a high-volume planned surgery centre, we’re increasing capacity across the whole system, reducing wait times and easing pressure on busy public hospitals.”
“We’ve brought Northern Beaches Hospital back into public hands, and now we’re expanding the services it can deliver for patients right across NSW.”
Treasurer Daniel Mookhey stated:
“This is the next step in reversing the Liberals’ epic privatisation failure at the Northern Beaches Hospital.
“This critical health service is being returned to what it should have been from the start – a publicly run facility that puts people before profit.
“This failed experiment cost $190 million to fix. It stands as a stark warning of the risks that come when the Liberals privatise essential services.”
See October 2025 report: Agreement reached to transition Northern Beaches Hospital to public ownership
Minister for Health Ryan Park said:
“The aftermath of the Liberals’ legacy of privatisation has been seismic, and if they had it their way, five other hospitals around the state would have been subject to PPPs.
“It hasn’t been easy, but we have acquired this hospital in record time.
“Overdue surgeries peaked under the Liberals, and the health system has been working to reduce these as quickly as possible.
“I’m so pleased that the state’s new High Volume Planned Surgery Centre will boost our health system’s surgery capacity to help patients receive the care they need more quickly.
“This is a win for the northern beaches community and for patients right across NSW.
“With the establishment of the Centre, 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.”
Northern Sydney Local Health District Chief Executive Adjunct Professor Anthony M. Schembri AM said:
“Northern Beaches Hospital boasts world-class surgical facilities and a wealth of surgical expertise.
“This Planned Surgery Centre will not only benefit the community of the northern beaches but patients right across the state who will experience quicker access to elective surgery.”
Scamps-Scruby Step Up for Residents
Earlier this week, on Wednesday January 28, Federal Member for Mackellar Dr Sophie Scamps MP said the new surgery hub planned for Northern Beaches Hospital must work for the local people.
“The people expect investments in their hospital to improve, not disrupt, access to care,” Dr Scamps said.
“Local patients must continue to have certainty that both public and private surgical services will remain available on the NBH campus, close to home. The NSW Government has assured the community these services will be retained, and I will hold them to that commitment.”
Despite earlier assurances from the NSW Government that clinicians would be consulted as part of the ongoing Clinical Services Plan development, medical staff have confirmed this announcement is the first they have heard of the proposal.
“I have heard from senior clinicians, who the Minns Government had promised they would keep informed, were only told last night. That is unacceptable,” Dr Scamps said.
“The community and hospital staff need transparency on the implementation of this hub - and importantly, assurance that any expansion of planned surgery services will build on, not compromise, the hospital’s existing capacity.”
“The NSW Government must maintain its commitment to genuine consultation with hospital staff. Their expertise is essential to ensuring this hub works for patients without compromising existing services delivery or workforce capacity.”
Dr Scamps said she will continue working constructively with the NSW Government to ensure the planned public surgery hub operates alongside - and not at the expense - of the private services currently available at NBH.
“This planned hub must strengthen - not weaken - the health services our community relies on.”
Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby said today’s announcement of a new Planned Elective Surgery Centre at Northern Beaches Hospital is a significant step in securing the hospital’s future as a strong, publicly run facility serving the local community and being a centre of excellence for elective surgery.
“My priority is that the Northern Beaches Hospital delivers better healthcare to Northern Beaches residents as a public hospital that also retains private hospital services. The Health Minister has confirmed that residents will have priority healthcare at the hospital and the surgery hub.
“All public hospitals play a role in the broader network. For example, RNSH leads on spinal and burns and Northern Beaches Hospital will lead on elective day surgery.”
“Elective day surgery is only one part of the wide range of services delivered by Northern Beaches Hospital. This announcement also comes with confirmation that investment will be made to expand surgery capacity. The Minister has made clear that increased elective surgeries will not cannibalise existing lists.
“My community has had initial concerns, made worse by alarmist headlines, however the Minister for Health has confirmed that local residents will have priority and day surgeries mean there is limited strain on hospital beds.”
Ms Scruby noted that she will hold the government to account and continue to ensure Northern Beaches residents have the best health care, including tracking key hospital metrics.
“My focus remains pressuring the NSW Government to confirm how private hospital services will continue. Today’s announcement provides a compelling reason for private doctors to stay at the hospital but it’s not enough. I’m disappointed today’s announcement has come before a decision on private services which is more important for my community.”
Ms Scruby said she would continue working with the NSW Government and remains in close contact with local public and private physicians and the AMA.
AMA NSW Requests more Clarity on Short-Term Plans
The Government is working on a transition that should have taken 3 years (when the contract ended) that now has to be done in one. The huge amount of work done so far, with follow ups slated to occur this month, will include the doctors who practice and book surgeries through the hospital.
Although the NSW government has offered contracts to employees, and the majority have accepted, lists that are compiled months prior to procedures have been put in doubt as doctors recall Day 1 of the NBH in 2018 and seek clarity of how that will be avoided.
AMA (NSW)President Dr. Kathryn Austin stated on January 29:
''AMA (NSW) acknowledges the NSW Government’s announcement of a planned surgery centre at Northern Beaches Hospital, but this is largely framed as a future reform while the hospital is due to transition to full public operation in May and there is still no clear framework for how services will operate from day one.''
''While long-term plans are important, patients and staff are dealing with uncertainty now, with no clarity on how care will be delivered during and immediately after the handover, how the model will be funded, or how workforce stability will be maintained through the transition.
Northern Beaches Hospital is already performing more than 20,000 surgeries each year and operating as a busy metropolitan hospital, making it essential that any change to service arrangements is carefully managed to avoid disruption to patient care and local access.
At this stage, there has been no detailed explanation of how referrals will be managed, how operating lists will be prioritised, or how bed availability will be protected once the hospital becomes fully public and new service models are introduced.'' Dr. Austin said
''There is also no clarity on how services will be staffed, including where doctors, nurses, anaesthetists and support staff will come from, or how existing services will be protected from workforce being redirected to support new initiatives.
Doctors are currently trying to book patients for surgery without clear direction about what service model will be in place after the transition, creating uncertainty for patients who are being scheduled now and raising concerns about continuity of care.
Without adequate staffing and patient flow, additional capacity on paper will not translate into more patients being treated in practice.
Patient discharge remains another major constraint. If patients cannot be discharged in a timely way because of shortages in aged care, disability services and community-based supports, beds remain blocked and surgical services cannot operate efficiently, regardless of future plans for expanded capacity.
There also remains uncertainty about how private services will operate after the transition and whether residents with private health insurance will be able to continue accessing specialist care locally, adding further concern for both patients and medical staff.
Without a confirmed private operator and a clear service model, there is a real risk that patients who currently rely on private care will be forced into the public system or required to travel elsewhere for surgery, increasing pressure on public waiting lists and reducing local access to care.
AMA (NSW) looks forward to working with the NSW Government on the provision of detailed information on the service framework, funding arrangements, workforce planning and patient flow ahead of the May transition, and to explain how access, continuity of care and patient safety will be protected during and after the handover.
Without that detail, it is not possible to assess whether current plans will stabilise services in the short term or whether they risk creating further disruption for Northern Beaches patients and staff at an already challenging time for the health system.''