Northern Beaches Hospital

In May 2013 the State Government announced the Northern Beaches Hospital would be built at Frenchs Forest. Upon its completion it became the primary hospital for the Northern Beaches, with Manly Hospital to close and Mona Vale Hospital to be downgraded.[1] It is operated by Healthscope.[2] In December 2014, Leighton Contractors were selected to build the hospital.[3] The hospital opened on 30 October 2018.

As part of the project, a series of road enhancements were made to the adjoining Forest Way, Wakehurst Parkway and Warringah Road by a Ferrovial/York Civil joint venture.[4] Upgrades were completed in mid-2020.

The hospital is not a traditional public hospital, and it is expected that 40% of beds will be reserved for private patients. Doctors are paid less to treat public patients than those with private health insurance.[5][6]

Since opening, the hospital has attracted criticism, with a doctor's union accusing the private operator of being "incompetent" and driven by "profit before patient care".[7] The hospital has also experienced problems with insufficient staffing numbers and lack of basic medical supplies such as insulin. Dr Tony Sara, from the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation of New South Wales, told the ABC that "There is not a complete and proper blood bank...There are ongoing reports of lack of medicines, lack of forms and clinical policies and processes." In February 2020 the hospital was the subject of a parliamentary inquiry which found "the public-private hospital model had the potential to negatively affect people from lower socio-economic backgrounds", recommending that the government not implement public-private public hospitals in future.[8]