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A Call for Urgent Reform

Joe’s parents met with the Premier Chris Minns, Health Minister Ryan Park and Secretary, NSW Health, Susan Pearce AM on 26th February 2025.

It was a productive and emotional meeting that secured the following key actions. The items below are being actioned:

  • Joe’s Law – The NSW government has introduced ‘Joe’s Law’. A world-leading Prohibition Bill to amend the Health Services Act 1997, prohibiting new public-private partnerships for acute hospital services in NSW.
  • Independent Review – Into paediatric care at the NBH is near completion. NSW Health is overseeing the review, led by the Clinical Excellence Commission. The overarching aim is to prevent further tragic losses.
  • Parliamentary Inquiry – The NSW Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee will investigate the safety and quality of care at Northern Beaches Hospital. This will include an audit of all Critical Incident Reports since 2018 and an examination of staffing, systems, and processes. Submissions close 20 May – we strongly encourage anyone with relevant experiences or opinions to contribute.
  • Joe’s Rule – An evolution of the REACH Protocol. The Government has committed to an ongoing public awareness campaign to raise awareness and save lives. A roundtable hosted by NSW Health and the Clinical Excellence Commission will explore improvements and a simplification of the protocol. Other changes we are calling on include mandatory hospital reporting requirements  and system-wide implementation of the protocol. Every patient should receive a text message on admission about the protocol, ensuring awareness and empowerment
  • Coronial Inquiry – Strikeforce Carlton has been set-up under direction by the NSW Coroner to investigate the death of Joe. The investigation commenced on 27 February 2025.
  • Budget Estimates – Healthscope appeared before Budget Estimates on 27 February. Transcript available here. Responses to supplementary questions provided to Healthscope are now available.

In Addition we are calling on:

  • NBH operated solely by the State Government – The NSW Government is in discussion with Healthscope to exit the contract.
  • Urgent IT System Overhaul – Healthscope is upgrading its Telstra Health IT features. We believe this IT system is not adequate and are calling for this system to be replaced with Cerner FirstNet.

A System That Failed At Every Level

“Our son should be here today. He had his whole life ahead of him, and we trusted Northern Beaches Hospital to provide the care he needed. Instead, he was failed at every level—by individuals, by hospital management, and by a system that values budgets over lives. We will not stop fighting—not just for Joe, but for every child who deserves safe and competent healthcare. No parent should have to walk out of a hospital with their bags instead of their child.”

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Voice Your Complaints

Healthscope has allocated additional quality and safety resources to their Northern Beaches Hospital team, to receive and review the complaints raised by the community.

Members of the community are encouraged to raise their concerns with NBH directly in the first instance on (02) 9105 5000 or via email at feedback.nbh@healthscope.com. Alternatively, members of the community can raise their concerns with Northern Sydney Local Health District via email at NSLHD-mail@health.nsw.gov.au. In NSW, the Health Care Complaints Commission is an independent statutory authority, established to ensure the robust and independent review of patient complaints.

Any members of the community who have a complaint regarding their health care can also raise complaints directly with the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) via: Phone: (02) 9219 7444 or toll free in NSW 1800 043 159 Email: hccc@hccc.nsw.gov.au