Building Regional and other Partnerships for Health: 2007 NSW Health Awards
The health and wellbeing of local communities depends on much more than health services, but access to quality health care makes a significant difference. Current arrangements for funding, organisation and delivery of human services involve three levels of government and a broad range of other agencies. Inevitably these complex arrangements lead to gaps in services and duplication. It will be vital to work collaboratively within and beyond the health system to better link and coordinate services and bridge the gaps.
What we are striving for in 2010 is a health system that engages more effectively with other government and non-government agencies, and with clinicians and the broader community, to provide a more integrated approach to planning, funding and delivering health and other human services to local communities and regions. Particular attention will be paid to reducing the health gap for communities that experience multiple disadvantage such as Aboriginal communities, refugees and those of lower socio- economic status.
Winner
- In Partnership - Promoting Health through Strategic Partnership in Local Government in SWAHS - This model provides a blueprint for other health services for developing and maintaining sustainable partnerships with local government.
Finalists
- LOVE BiTES Program - A successful community partnership - A comprehensive Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Program for High School Students.
- PAST - Pre-hospital Acute Stroke Triage - The PAST protocol was designed to reduce pre-hospital and Emergency Department delays to treatment and improve equity of access to acute stroke therapy.
Entries
- Aboriginal Antenatal Outreach Service - A collaborative program which has had a dramatic impact on the number of Aboriginal women presenting for antenatal care prior to 20 weeks gestation as well as the wellbeing of their newborn babies.
- Building Rehabilitation Capacity in Small Rural Acute Health Services - Descibes the development of a clinical network as a method to address restricted patient access to rehabilitation services in a significant region of western NSW.
- Complexities In Pregnancy - Integrated care for chronically addicted pregnant women with mental health issues and their babies.
- Eye surgery in Moree - A collaborative process - The sharing of information, knowledge, staff and equipment between the three organisations allowed state of the art equipment to be based in Moree to provide a high quality ophthalmology service to the community of Moree and surrounding districts.
- Improving cross-border cancer care coordination - The Border Cancer Collaboration (BCC) has been successful in establishing a multi-disciplinary approach to cancer treatment and support for patients, families and carers for the Albury/Wodonga region.
- Karitane Volunteer Program (KVP) - This program offers the unique skills of specially educated volunteers, with their own parenting experience, to assist paid staff to provide home visits, telephone and group support to families in the antenatal period and families with children up to three years of age.
- Partnering to Create Fun for Kids - The creation of an accessible, safe and friendly playground for children of all abilities that contributes to the ongoing relaxation, recovery, health and well being of patients, families and visitors.
- Partnerships and Provision of Parenting Programs - Through early intervention and appropriate response this program aims at reducing behavioural and emotional problems of children.
- Remote Radiotherapy Planning: No longer a dream - A regional hospital based remote radiotherapy planning facility was developed, where rural patients can be simulated / CT scanned for radiation therapy treatment in the regional hospital without the need to travel to Sydney Metropolitan Hospital.
- Rural Clinical Locum Program Oral Health Services - This program provides a relief schedule over a 4-year period with experienced dentists to support rural dentists with professional development and leave requirements whilst enabling the continuation of service provision.
- Rural Model of Service Delivery for People with Spinal Cord Injury in NSW - The Spinal Outreach Service and has achieved: an accessible statewide multi-disciplinary assessment opportunity within a clinic environment; education and support to rural clinicians; and, alignment of metropolitan and rural services.
- Rural Youth Destination Outreach Network (RYDON) - A program to provide affordable transport for 12 up to 24 year olds in areas that are transport disadvantaged during school, public holidays and weekends.
- Speech Pathology in Schools Project - The Schools Project involves teams of Speech Pathology students working with selected schools to support children’s communication and language skills in the school context.
- Toomelah Boggabilla Strategy - The development of an effective, long-lasting partnership between the Aboriginal communities of Toomelah and Boggabilla and government agencies in NSW and Queensland to build community capacity and improve the health and wellbeing of these communities.
