A man shouts slogans against the sale of public land near the Royal North Shore Hospital at a rally earlier this month Photo: Daniel Munoz
Doctors at Royal North Shore Hospital have passed a motion of no confidence in the hospital board over a planned sale of 8 per cent of the site they say will jeopardise treatment for years to come.
They are furious at the board and Health Minister Jillian Skinner for what they say is a “short-sighted” decision to sell or lease the southern part of the hospital campus for $97 million, as well as for claiming the decision was supported by medical staff.
But the chair of the Northern Sydney Local Health District Board appears to be backing away from the decision, telling Fairfax Media that the board had “no responsibility” for the sale, and a recent decision to open expressions of interest was “entirely the decision of government”.
The chair of the hospital’s Medical Staff Council, Adam Rehak, said the money from the sale would only cover between one month and six week’s worth of running costs, while the loss of about 8 per cent of the hospital grounds would have long-term impacts, and was “short-sighted and irresponsible”.
“The NSW government seems to be willing to compromise the long-term future of the hospital in order to get a couple of … services paid for in the short-term,” he said. “We are talking about what will happen in 25 or 30 years’ time, when there are significant changes in technology and we need to adapt”.
Staff had provided the government with suggestions to generate between $10 million and $12 million annually by leasing out parts of the existing buildings to the private sector, he said.
Royal North Shore is a major referral hospital for trauma, spinal injuries and burns across NSW, serving about one in six people.In opposition, Ms Skinner was a fierce opponent of Labor plans to sell-off part of the site.
Tensions have been building after officials claimed doctors had signed off on the land sale during consultations for a site master plan.
Dr Rehak said the plan had made no mention of land sell-offs and had only identified the southern section, known as zone eight, as having the potential for “commercial opportunities”.
“The doctors thought if it wasn’t discussed then it wouldn’t be part of the campus master plan, so it was with some surprise that these clinicians heard there was going to be a divestment,” he said.
Last night the hospital’s doctors overwhelmingly passed a motion of “no confidence” in the board’s handling of the issue. They also discussed whether or not to take a general vote of no confidence, but decided against it after meetings in which management had agreed to improve communication and apologise for claiming doctors had supported the move.
Board chair Carol Pollock said there was “absolutely no intention” to imply that doctors who helped develop the campus plan had approved the land sale.
“If such an inference was drawn, I strongly regret any ramifications (both personal and professional) that may have resulted,” she said in a statement.
Ms Skinner said she had complete confidence in the health district’s board, and said she had kept her promise to halt Labor’s planned sale of 30 per cent of Royal North Shore land.
“Zone eight represents just eight per cent of the campus, not 30 per cent as was the case under Labor,” she said. “I have spent almost two decades fighting for Royal North Shore Hospital”.