He said his department had met the administrators and receivers within hours of the announcement to outline the federal government’s priorities and expectations.

Healthscope treats about 650,000 Australians each year, and employs about 19,000 staff nationally.

“The government expects all parties to continue to put patient care and workers as their priority [and it] does not want any of these important assets to be put in jeopardy to satisfy international investors,” he said.

La Spina said Healthscope would not need a bailout, and that it had received 10 credible, non-binding offers for the company.

He expected a new owner would be announced by mid-August.

On Friday, doctors told a parliamentary inquiry that Northern Beaches Hospital’s chronic understaffing and a dysfunctional patient record system posed significant risks to patients, piling further pressure on the state government to take control of the troubled hospital.

Loading

In April, NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey and Health Minister Ryan Park launched a taskforce to investigate the operations of Northern Beaches Hospital’s public-private partnership, which is under contract until 2038.

“[W]hat we are making very clear is we want to know who precisely will be in control of this hospital and this company when we are having to have complex conversations about reversing this privatisation disaster,” Mookhey said.

On Monday, Park said the government was in constant negotiations with Healthscope’s owners to return the hospital’s public services to government hands.

“We haven’t landed on the way forward yet,” Park said.

The government is also considering a private member’s bill by Wakehurst MP Michael Regan to legislate an end to the public-private partnership at the hospital without compensation.

Regan called on the NSW government to expedite the process of transferring the entire Northern Beaches Hospital – both public and private – to public hands in light of the receivership.

“Step up and urgently end this diabolical contract,” Regan said. “I dread that this development will mean even more focus on the bottom line, instead of where it should be, on staff and patients.”

Elouise Massa, whose two-year-old son Joe died at the hospital in September 2024 after a series of critical failures, said the move to receivership marked the end of a disastrous attempt by the private equity firm Brookfield to profit from the care of sick and injured Australians.

“This moment presents the NSW government with a renewed opportunity to return Northern Beaches Hospital to public hands,” Massa said.

Loading

“We continue to place our trust in the government to act in the best interests of the community and deliver this outcome as swiftly as possible.”

Health Services Union NSW secretary Gerard Hayes said the “sorry episode” proved there was no place for private equity in public health, and Northern Beaches Hospital must be the last such arrangement.

“This is why we have had absurd situations like the maternity ward at Northern Beaches Hospital being rented out as a film set,” Hayes said.

Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation of NSW delegate Dr Tatiana Lowe said the average clinician did not care who owned a hospital, only that they were responsive to their concerns, “be it a system that is not fit for purpose, inadequate staffing or a clinical danger”.

“That is not going to magically change if ownership changes, whether it’s to another private operator or NSW Health. These are issues deep in the health system across public and private services,” Lowe said.

NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association assistant general secretary Michael Whaites said: “The financial collapse of Healthscope is an unfortunate reminder about the dangers of privatising healthcare services and that Americanised healthcare does not work in Australia.”

Both options of taking over the public services, or both public and private services were still on the table, the state government said.

Crawford, who is leading the team of receivers, said: “Our immediate focus is to engage constructively with all key stakeholders to ensure uninterrupted operation of Healthscope hospitals and continuity of best practice standards of patient care.”

with Angus Thomson

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.