Mission Statement | SaveMonaValeHospital

ABOUT US > Mission Statement

Our campaign

Despite the strong and ongoing opposition from the Pittwater community, asbestos removal and demolition has started on the Mona Vale Hospital site. The nurses quarters have already been pulled down, while asbestos removal and demolition are now underway on the main building.

Where to now for the Save Mona Vale Hospital campaign?

With the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the focus of our campaign has changed. Governments around the world are setting up field hospitals with Intensive Care Units in tents, ships and a range of large buildings to treat the growing numbers of patients succumbing to the virus.

The pandemic highlights the need for Mona Vale Hospital's Emergency Department to reopen as a Level 3 facility, supported by an Intensive Care Unit and other acute services. This is what was recommended by the NSW Upper House Inquiry into the Operation and Management of the Northern Beaches Hospital in February 2020.

As the inquiry stated, the NSW government should cease demolition of the Mona Vale Hospital main building when asbestos removal is completed. It should then immediately take steps to restore a Level 3 Emergency Department - which entails ICU and other acute services.

The Pittwater community now needs theses services restored to our local hospital more than ever - to cope with potentially thousands of patients requiring isolation and treatment for COVID-19.

"No-one is going to turn around and complain later if we end up with too many beds - but if they don't have enough hospital capacity then it will be a national disaster" - Parry Thomas, Save Mona Vale Hospital chairman

If the demolition continues, it is imperative that the footprint of the main building is retained as open space so a new hospital can be built there in the future.

This reflects the motion for the mission statement passed at the public meeting in 2018.

This space is planned to be a central garden area, with low-rise buildings. The government plans to attract other private health services to the site.

Pittwater and Warringah residents overwhelming want a local community hospital, which continues to provide emergency, surgery and in-patient beds, with, more serious cases referred to Northern Beaches Hospital or Royal North Shore Hospital reaching the hospital public transport is difficult...,walking, hang-gliding and surfing.

Find out more about the actions to save our hospital.

Background

In October 2018, two Level 3 community hospitals, Mona Vale and Manly, were closed and the new Northern Beaches Hospital opened. This Level 5 private facility run by Healthscope, is contracted by the NSW government to treat public patients. Since its opening, the NBH has been plagued by systemic problems making the loss of Mona Vale Hospital even more acute.

The Mona Vale health facility will have:

An urgent care centre open 24 hours for minor illnesses and injuries
A 56 bed rehabilitation centre
10 bed palliative care centre
10 bed geriatric centre
a new ambulance station
community health facilities

Why is it so important to have a Level 3 Hospital at Mona Vale?

Northern Beaches Hospital is 28 km from Palm Beach – the same distance as Bondi. Travel time is approximately 45 minutes as opposed to 15 minutes to Mona Vale (depending on traffic).
For offshore residents on Scotland Island or the Western Foreshores, the time taken to reach a hospital will dramatically increase as first they need to travel by boat to Palm Beach or Church Point.
Flooding, car accidents, and fallen trees regularly close Wakehurst Parkway, the road to the Hospital from the northern end of the Peninsula.
Reaching the hospital by public transport is difficult
Government policy is to increase population density thereby placing more pressure on infrastructure. An increase of 40 000 people is planned by 2036. In 2016, the population was 253 000.
The new Northern Beaches Hospital has a larger catchment than the current catchment of Mona Vale and Manly Hospitals.
The Pittwater area attracts a large number of visitors to our beaches and waterways, fishing, swimming, boating, walking,hangliding and surfing
The new Hospital has 488 beds, 200 beds more than Manly and Mona Vale hospitals. However Northern Beaches Hospital will have only 277 of these beds for public patients.