NSW Local Health Networks plan released for consultation

The New South Wales (NSW) government has released a discussion paper outlining a proposed restructure of the NSW Hospital System – arising out of the recent Council of Australian Governments (COAG) negotiations.

Under the plan, 17 new Local Health Networks would be established across NSW, replacing the eight Area Health Services currently in place.

NSW is leading the country in implementation of the National Health reform, and is the first state to outline detailed proposals for Local Health Networks.
 
In response, the Australian Medical Association (NSW) welcomed the NSW government’s commitment to give local doctors a role on local public hospital governing bodies.

AMA (NSW) president, Michael Steiner, said the policy was good news for doctors, nurses and patients as it ensured major decisions would be made with a view to the delivery of frontline care.
 
The paper is available at http://www.premier.nsw.gov.au

Orthogeriatric guide to improve care of older people
Older people needing orthopaedic procedures such as treatment for fractures in NSW hospitals are set to benefit from a best practice model of care, the first to be released by the new Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI).

The ACI, set up in response to the Garling Inquiry into NSW public hospitals, uses the expertise of doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, managers and consumers to identify practical evidence-based models of care.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Health, Carmel Tebbutt, said the Agency’s first order of business has been to develop a model of care to better address the needs of older people accessing the health system for orthopaedic procedures.

The new orthogeriatric guide describes the key elements of best practice care in an easy to use guide for doctors, nurses and other health professionals.

The new model of care recommends:

• Older people with fractures have an initial assessment by a specialist aged health physician and on-going care from specialist aged care services working in tandem with orthopaedic health professionals;
• The treatment provided looks at the person as a whole – not just the fracture – picking up any pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, dementia, cardiac, renal or respiratory failure;
• The family and carers of older people with a fracture are asked for their advice and information and are closely involved in any decisions around patient care; and
• Special attention is paid to getting people up and returning to independence sooner, to avoid complications such as chest infections, blood clots and muscle weakness which can affect recovery and length of stay in hospital.