A PRIVATELY run hospital will be built on Sydney's northern beaches in what the state government has described as a "totally new model" for healthcare in NSW.
The O'Farrell government on Thursday called for expressions of interest for the 423-bed Northern Beaches Hospital, which will be designed, constructed, operated and maintained by a private sector operator.
The hospital, to be built at Frenchs Forest, will provide a mix of public and private services and will be run by an operator "with a proven record", Health Minister Jillian Skinner said.
Construction will begin on the hospital in 2015 and it will take patients from 2018, with ownership reverting to the state after 20 years.
"It is a totally new model for NSW. It is based on successful operations such as Joondalup in Western Australia," Ms Skinner told reporters.
"This is a private operator proposal that will bring investment from the private and not-for-profit sector so that it means we get greater value for money for the state and for the residents of the northern beaches."
She said acute services would be relocated from Mona Vale Hospital, which would be redeveloped to provide complimentary health services.
Ms Skinner said the new hospital would provide the same number of public beds currently available at Mona Vale and Manly, while doubling the number of private beds.
Manly Hospital would close when the new hospital opened, she said.
Treasurer Mike Baird, who appeared alongside Ms Skinner, said the land freed up by the closure of Manly Hospital would not be sold for apartments.
Opposition health spokesman Andrew McDonald said he had major concerns about whether a private operator could run the new hospital.
"This is not a first for NSW. This happened 20 years ago at Port Macquarie and that's a game that ended in tears," Dr McDonald told reporters.
"I've got major concerns about the ability of the private sector to deliver health care to everyone who needs it."
He predicts patient care will suffer as a result of the decision.
"Private operators exist to provide a profit for their shareholders," he said.
"Patient care is not their primary consideration."
Greens NSW MP John Kaye said northern beaches residents had been "comprehensively dudded" by the announcement.
"They are losing a public hospital. They are losing services at Mona Vale ... to a new hospital site that is inappropriately served by transport and that's a long way away from the northern half of the northern beaches," he told AAP.
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