NSW Labor

A new child health branch focused exclusively on child healthcare and protection in NSW will be created under a State Government proposal.

NSW Kids will for the first time bring together the full range of acute and community care services currently available across the state for all children, from birth to sixteen years of age.

NSW Premier, Kristina Keneally, released the Caring Together: NSW Kids discussion paper with the Minister for Health, Carmel Tebbutt, at St George Hospital today.

“NSW Kids will have one purpose: to ensure that every child in NSW – no matter where they live and regardless of their circumstances – has access to the best child health and acute paediatrics care,” Ms Keneally said.

“NSW Kids will provide a single, accountable entity to coordinate and simplify the delivery of healthcare to the children in NSW.

“For the first time in NSW, a Chief Paediatrician will be appointed to provide expert advice on children’s health across the state.

“Other senior appointments that will be made include a Senior Clinical Advisor Child Health and Senior Clinical Advisor Child Protection,” Ms Keneally said.

NSW Kids is one of the key recommendations of Commissioner Garling’s Special Commission of Inquiry into the NSW public health system (www.healthactionplan.nsw.gov.au). The NSW Government accepted 134 of the 139 recommendations made by Commissioner Garling.

“With the help of thousands of doctors, nurses, clinicians and medial experts, the NSW Government is implementing theses critical changes to our health system,” Minister for Health Carmel Tebbutt said.

“There has already been extensive consultation with stakeholders and today, I am inviting the community to look at our plan and have their say. The discussion paper I have released sets out our objectives and gives parents, families and others involved in child health and protection the opportunity to give us their feedback,” she said.

Under the new arrangements:

• A Chief Executive will manage Sydney’s two children’s hospitals, Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick and Children’s Hospital Westmead – together they will comprise a new statutory health corporation the Sydney Children’s Hospitals (Randwick and Westmead). This will provide opportunities to boost research, training and development capacity.
• An Advisory Council will be appointed for both Hospitals and the Government has asked Mr Roger Corbett AM to be the Chair.
• The state’s third children’s hospital – John Hunter in Newcastle – will also play a key role in the way tertiary and quaternary services are planned, developed and funded.
• Experts in child health and acute paediatrics will link-up with clinicians across NSW, including family GPs, extending the reach of world’s-best practice into every community in the state. GPs are the primary providers of health care for most families and importantly they are often the main medical workforce in rural and regional towns. Their role will be critical to NSW Kids.
• NSW Kids will work with existing Child Health networks and Area Health Services to maximise the effectiveness of paediatric services in 30 NSW hospitals spanning the state.
• A Chief Paediatrician will be appointed to provide expert advice on children’s health across the state.
• Other senior appointments include a Senior Clinical Advisor Child Health and Senior Clinical Advisor Child Protection.
• A surgical trainee in the highly specialised area of Paediatric Urology will be appointed next month (February) service both hospitals, but based at Randwick.

The community and interested groups are asked to provide feedback by 26th February 2010.