A small group of nurses and midwives have gathered for a photographic shoot, in High Street, to be used as part of a new NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association campaign in the lead up to the 2015 State election.

“The NSWNMA is preparing to campaign up to the next State election to raise awareness in the Maitland community about our concerns that the state government will enter into a public private partnership whereby a private operator will manage and run the new hospital for Maitland,” ­association organiser for the Hunter Matt Byrne said.

“The government continues to maintain its line that it hasn't yet made a decision about its preferred procurement model for the new hospital, but the fact that they won’t come clean about the new hospital’s operator and announce that it will be operated as a fully public hospital confirms our suspicion that they will be going down the PPP model.”

Maitland MP Robyn Parker has repeatedly stated that the new hospital, to be built at Metford, would be a public facility for public patients and that the government had always been clear about its intention.

Mr Byrne said PPP models have a history of failure across Australia with the association also campaigning for the Northern Beaches Hospital at Sydney to also be kept in public hands.

“The NSWNMA will be campaigning strongly on this issue in the lead up to the State election,” Mr Byrne said. 

“The privatisation of health services in clearly a focus of the current state government.

“The NSWNMA believes that all citizens should have equitable access to quality healthcare, regardless of income and regardless of postcode. Our campaign theme will be Our new Maitland Hospital: Not for Sale.”