10th Annual NSW Health Awards 2008

2008 Awards

The NSW Health Awards continue to demonstrate our commitment to recognising and sharing knowledge about excellence in healthcare and improving the performance of the NSW Health system. The 2008 NSW Health Awards continue to acknowledge the invaluable contribution of NSW Health teams to the high standards and performance levels of the system.  The awards are presented in the following categories:

Award Winners

Making prevention everybody's business

Improving Hand Hygiene - The Children's Hospital at Westmead
Program to reduce the spread of serious germs, including healthcare associated infections, by increasing good hand hygiene in all clinical areas to 80 % by June 2007.

Create better experiences for people using health services

Healthcare for Older Persons Earlier (HOPE) Strategy - Sydney West Area Health Service
The HOPE Strategy aims to provide older people, their families and carers with immediate access to skilled clinicians and responsive and appropriate care that is designed to restore and maintain a person's optimum level of function and independence.

Strengthen primary health and continuing care in the community

Alternatives to Acute Hospital - APAC/GP Shared Care - Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service
The Northern Beaches (NBs) APAC/GP Shared Care model was initiated in 2006/2007 in response to increasing demand on Emergency Departments (EDs) and the growing number of elderly patients, with ambulatory sensitive conditions, being admitted to hospital.

Build regional and other partnerships for health

From Little Things Big Things Grow - Hunter New England Area Health Service
The Tenterfield Health Service developed partnerships with local government, non-government and community organisations to plan healthy lifestyle programs with an emphasis on obesity as a major cause of chronic diseases.

Make smart choices about the costs and benefits of health services

Wagga Wagga Mental Health Emergency Care Support Centre - Greater Southern Area Health Service
The Wagga Wagga Mental Health Emergency Care Support Centre (MHECSC) is an innovative technological solution to address the problem of poor timeliness and access to specialist mental health emergency assessment and support.

Build a sustainable health workforce

E-learning: Improving Multidisciplinary Paediatric CPR - The Children's Hospital at Westmead
Development of an e-learning resuscitation module, which was then evaluated using a before and after study on Emergency Department doctors and new graduate nurses.

Be ready for new risks and opportunities

Reducing Risk by Moving Clinical Handover to the Bedside - Sydney South West Area Health Service
A project to develop a reliable, safe and systematic process for clinical handover. The process should to be easy to use, transportable, identify potential issues or problems and measureable.

Peak Awards Winners & Finalists

Director General's Encouragement Award

Winner

Deteriorating Patient - Improving Identification and Management - Sydney South West Area Health Service
Project to improve nursing assessment, care planning and documentation processes to reduce patient antecedent rates (ie. presence of altered physiological parameters with no intervention) within the Departments of Medicine and Surgery.

Finalists

Providing Smoking Cessation Care in all Inpatient Wards - Hunter New England Area Health Service
Multi-component program to provide smoking cessation care to all inpatient wards.

Having Your Baby in Australia? We Speak your Language! - Sydney West Area Health Service
A language specific audio- CD was produced detailing the practices and procedures of childbirth in Australian hospitals. CALD women and their support people would listen to this CD prior to giving birth.

Minister's Award

Winner

Healthcare for Older Persons Earlier (HOPE) Strategy - Sydney West Area Health Service
The HOPE Strategy aims to provide older people, their families and carers with immediate access to skilled clinicians and responsive and appropriate care that is designed to restore and maintain a person's optimum level of function and independence.

Finalists

Wagga Wagga Mental Health Emergency Care Support Centre - Greater Southern Area Health Service
The Wagga Wagga Mental Health Emergency Care Support Centre (MHECSC) is an innovative technological solution to address the problem of poor timeliness and access to specialist mental health emergency assessment and support.

Reducing Risk by Moving Clinical Handover to the Bedside - Sydney South West Area Health Service
A project to develop a reliable, safe and systematic process for clinical handover. The process should to be easy to use, transportable, identify potential issues or problems and measureable.

Clinical Excellence Commission Award

Winner

Reducing Surgical Site Infection in the Paediatric Neurosurgical Patient - The Children's Hospital Westmead
Project to reduce surgical site infections (SSI) in children admitted for insertion of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts and insertion of external ventricular drains (EVDs).

Finalists

Improving Hand Hygiene - The Children's Hospital at Westmead
Program to reduce the spread of serious germs, including healthcare associated infections, by increasing good hand hygiene in all clinical areas to 80 % by June 2007.

Microbiology Liaison Reducing Prescription of Antibiotics in ICU - The Children's Hospital at Westmead
A weekday liaison round of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) by a Clinical Microbiologist aimed to improve communication and interpretation of laboratory results, appropriateness of antibiotic therapy and infection control.

E-learning: Improving Multidisciplinary Paediatric CPR - The Children's Hospital at Westmead
Development of an e-learning resuscitation module, which was then evaluated using a before and after study on Emergency Department doctors and new graduate nurses.

Early Recognition of the Deteriorating Patient Project (ERDP) - Greater Western Area Health Service
This six-month project was developed to enable health care professionals to recognise the deteriorating patient early and initiate appropriate and timely interventions.

History of the Awards

The first NSW Health Awards were made in 1998/99. While the initial strong focus was on quality issues, the scope of the Awards has since been broadened. For example, Performance Awards were introduced in 2004 to recognise improved performance, particularly the efforts of frontline staff to address waiting lists, access block and off stretcher time. A Best Innovation to Improve Patient Care and Patient Journeys category was introduced in 2006. The Award categories were completely revised in 2007 to align with the Strategic Directions of NSW Health.