The situation at the Northern Beaches Hospital has been slammed as “horrendous” after a series of explosive revelations into the $600 million facility.

The first hearing of the inquiry into the hospital’s management and operations revealed junior doctors were treating private patients and others were working 19-hour days.

In one three-month period, 17 patients had to wait more than 24 hours in emergency and two patients had suffered the most serious and preventable form of medical errors known as ‘sentinel events’ at the facility since it opened.

NSW Shadow Health Minister Ryan Park tells Steve Price he hasn’t seen an issue this dire during his time in politics.

“It’s horrendous, I’ve got to be blunt.

“This hospital should never have opened when it did. It was quite obvious that the IT systems were not working, basic supplies and equipment were not available.

“This is not a small problem, this is not a hiccup or a teething issue as the minister said, this is a hospital in complete and utter chaos.”

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