There was standing room only as the community voiced their concerns about the future of the Bowral and District Hospital. 

The public forum was, at times, heated as frustrated residents spoke out against the public private partnership plan (PPP) on Monday, March 13.

The meeting, hosted by Public Health First, sought answers about the $50 million upgrade to the hospital and the proposed PPP.

It was headed by Public Health First chair Edna Carmichael and member Gordon Markwart. 

Ms Carmichael said the community had been poorly informed about the future plans of the hospital. 

“We feel very annoyed that we had to get to this point. Different processes should have taken place to inform the community about a public private partnership,” she said. 

Union representatives, Wollondilly MP Jai Rowell, Goulburn MP Pru Goward and Labor MP Stephen Jones also attended the meeting.  

The passionate group of Highlanders were noticeably fed up with Mr Rowell, who spoke to other councillors and made jokes while several different people, including concerned community members and hospital staff, spoke of their concerns. 

Gordon Markwart said he was concerned the hospital Clinical Services Plan had not been made available to the public. 

District director of rehabilitation services, associate professor Geoff Murray, said the PPP would affect the quality of patient care and the model was “ethically flawed”. 

“The bottom line is you can’t make a profit out of publicly funded patients and deliver quality of care,” he said. 

“The cost of meeting duty of care to vulnerable patients conflicts with motivation to make profit.

“They will discharge patients prematurely before they are fully recovered and community supports are put in place.”

Mr Rowell said more community consultations in relation to the partnership model would be held.

There was concern $50 million was not enough to adequately upgrade the hospital and that it was merely ‘a new building and a slap of paint’. However, Mr Rowell said it was a great start. 

“There are 92 other members of parliament who are all fighting for their hospitals, their services, their roads. And we got that money, I won that argument,” he said.

“Not once have I said that $50 million would give you a complete upgrade of everything that we all want.”

In regards to the proposed PPP, Mr Rowell said he would not support it if it did not deliver a good outcome for the community. 

“The reality of it is that we have not seen what that PPP looks like because a proposal is still a number of months away.” 

The audience, obviously frustrated with Mr Rowell’s responses, booed him from the podium.

South West Area Health Services CEO Amanda Larkin said the proposed plan would not be pursued if the public and private hospitals could not work together to deliver services adequately under the Medicare agreement.

Residents also raised their concerns about how staff would be affected if the PPP were to be approved. 

Anthony Manning from Health Infrastructure said jobs would not change in the first two years of the proposed plan and would be protected by the Fair Work Act after that. 

“The Fair Work Act says the conditions cannot be any less than they already are,” he said. 

“The staff that will move across will get a permanent contract and their job would be protected as part of that process.”

Southern Highlands nurse Shari Bugdon said hospital staff wanted more answers about their future. 

“I’m a little bit concerned about what will happen if we go private,” she said. 

“We know that last year the Baird government put through legislation that said anyone who goes from a public system into a private system would lose all their redundancies. 

“We are also concerned about the nurse-to-patient ratio and nurse education.

“If you think this is a great thing then please convince me, because I do not.”

Public Health First urged the community to write to their local members outlining their thoughts on the proposed public private partnership and the $50 million upgrade.