50 signatures reached
To: NSW Labor Government
Bring the Mater Hospital back into public hands!
We demand that the Calvary Mater Hospital in Newcastle be brought back into public hands now.
Conditions at the Mater are appalling with mould in the walls and air conditioning, inadequate separation of sewage lines, and maggots falling from the ceiling onto patients. The Mater is the main cancer treatment hospital for Newcastle and the Hunter.
The Aspergillus mould at the Mater is a serious health risk to all, but in immunocompromised people (such as cancer patients) mould infections can have a mortality rate of between 40 and 90 percent. Nurses have spoken out about critically ill patients being put in rooms with high mould readings, and how staff frequently contract respiratory infections. Over a hundred families are planning a class action to demand justice for their loved ones who died during treatment at the Mater.
The situation demands urgent action - it is killing patients and putting workers’ safety at risk.
The situation demands urgent action - it is killing patients and putting workers’ safety at risk.
Why is this important?
In 2005, the New South Wales Labor government turned the Mater over to a public-private partnership with Novacare. Since then, the Mater has been run for profit at the expense of care.
The Minns government was briefed about the situation as early as 2023. A parliamentary inquiry exposed destruction of evidence and whistleblower intimidation. Over $300 million in financial penalties to Novacare have been forgiven. Yet Labor is still refusing to bring the Mater back into public hands.
The Minns government took back the Northern Beaches Hospital after the tragic and preventable death of two-year-old Joe Massa. Residents of Newcastle and the Hunter deserve the same.
This disaster at the Mater shows what happens when the profit motive is allowed to govern our healthcare system. Healthcare is a basic human need and shouldn't be a chance for companies to profit. Health workers deserve better pay and safe staffing levels. We all deserve a fully-funded public healthcare system, not a patchwork of scandal-ridden half-private hospitals.
We, the undersigned, call on the New South Wales government to:
- Bring the Calvary Mater Hospital back into public hands now.
- Fix the health and safety issues at the Mater immediately.
- Abolish public-private partnerships in the health sector.