NSW Health

• Date founded: 1982
• Industry: Healthcare
• Corporate headquarters: Sydney, New South Wales
• Type: Private

NSW Health is the public health system of New South Wales, Australia. The largest health system in Australia, it is made up of the New South Wales (NSW) Ministry of Health, several statutory organisations and an affiliated health organisation. Headquartered in North Sydney, New South Wales, it has 228 hospitals along with seventeen local health districts and specialty networks that serve the communities of New South Wales. It is the primary source of health care for almost 8 million people in New South Wales.

The NSW Ministry of Health administers the public health services of the various sub-organisations. Despite being a government department supporting the roles of the secretary and minister of health under the Health Administration Act 1982 and Health Services Act 1997, it has a corporate governance structure. NSW Health's other components are its local health districts, statewide and specialist organisations under the Health Administration Corporation and statutory health corporations.

The local health districts provide health services directly to the public. These include a variety of settings, such as primary care posts in rural areas and large health centres in urban areas. NSW Health entities within the Health Administration Corporation structure include NSW Ambulance; Health Infrastructure, which oversees capital works projects; Health Protection NSW, responsible for observing, investigating and monitoring public health issues; the technology-focused eHealth NSW; and NSW Health Pathology, which provides clinical and scientific pathology services across the health system. Health Share NSW (formerly Health Support Services) is a statewide organisation that provides support services for the delivery of health services, such as human resources, accounting and other financial services, food and patient support, and procurement services. It also provides two specialty services: Non-Emergency Patient Transport and Enable NSW, which assists people with disabilities.

Several NSW Health branches are statutory health corporations. The two specialty health networks within NSW Health are the Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network, which provides mental health services to citizens with mental illnesses or developmental disabilities, and the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network. The board-governed Agency for Clinical Innovation helps implement clinical guidelines and reviews clinical variations. Another board-governed organisation is the Bureau of Health Information, which records and disseminates data about the state public health system. Other entities include the Clinical Excellence Commission, which aims to improve safety and quality in the public health system; the Cancer Institute NSW; and the Health Education and Training Institute.

NSW Health also has many important affiliates that help make up the full public health system. Among these is the St. Vincent's Health Network, consisting of three hospitals.

History

NSW Health was established by the Health Administration Act 1982, which restructured the existing public health bodies in New South Wales to improve the delivery of health services and better manage and administer those services. The act established a corporate governance structure, directed by the NSW health secretary and the minister for health. It granted the secretary corporate status as the Health Administration Corporation and created additional entities to provide support services to NSW Health.

The Health Services Act 1997 established local health districts as corporate entities and specified three types of statutory health corporations that fell under the control and direction of the secretary and the minister for health. These were specialty health networks, which would eventually include the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network and the Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network; board-governed organisations that provided specialist health and health support services, which would include the Agency for Clinical Innovation, the Bureau of Health Information and the Health Education and Training Institute; and chief executive–governed statutory health corporations, including the Clinical Excellence Commission. The Cancer Institute (NSW) Act 2003 established the NSW Cancer Institute and was designated a statutory health corporation following the Health Services Act 1997.

NSW Health has evolved over the years to keep up its standards of care and the functionality of its bureaucracy. For example, the Health Infrastructure organisation was formed in 2007, the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network in 2010 and eHealth NSW in July 2014. The NSW Ministry of Health was established as a public service agency under the Government Sector Employment Act 2013.

In 2014, NSW Health implemented a strategic plan, NSW State Health Plan: Towards 2021, that specified its future directions and strategies. Its three priorities were to keep people healthy, provide world-class clinical care and deliver truly integrated care. By the end of 2017, NSW Health had implemented several initiatives to meet those goals. It improved the health system's infrastructure by redeveloping several hospitals, upgrading existing ambulance stations and constructing ambulance stations. It stopped selling and serving sugary drinks in its health facilities to combat obesity and promote healthy food choices. It combatted childhood obesity through several campaigns that promoted active lifestyles and healthy eating. To improve the delivery of clinical care, it created an electronic medication management system for public hospitals and a statewide electronic patient records access system. It also created an Aboriginal cultural training program to improve care for Aboriginal Australians. The NSW State Health Plan was replaced by Future Health: Guiding the Next Decade of Health Care in NSW 2022-2032. This plan intended to develop a sustainable health system for New South Wales by 2032.

Impact

As the main source of healthcare for millions of Australians, NSW Health directly affects residents of New South Wales every day. The organisation is involved in all areas of public health, from hospital care to the administrative and capital projects that make such care possible. It is integral to both the government and corporate sectors. NSW Health's size and scope mean that its decisions can have multiple, complex effects throughout NSW and Australian society, ranging beyond just health to the economy and culture.

Bibliography

"About NSW Health." Corporate Governance & Accountability Compendium for NSW Health. NSW Health, Dec. 2016. NSW Government, www.health.nsw.gov.au/policies/manuals/Documents/corporate-governance-compendium-section1.pdf. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

"Annual Report 2016–17 NSW Health." NSW Ministry of Health, NSW Government, Oct. 2017, www.health.nsw.gov.au/AnnualReport/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

Hendry, Justin. "NSW Health Prepares to Launch Innovation Portal." IT News, 14 Sept. 2017, www.itnews.com.au/news/nsw-health-prepares-to-launch-innovation-portal-473225. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

"Future Health: Guiding the Next Decade of Health Care in NSW 2022-2032." New South Wales Government, 2022, www.health.nsw.gov.au/about/nswhealth/Pages/future-health.aspx. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

NSW Health, NSW Government, www.health.nsw.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

NSW State Health Plan: Towards 2021. NSW Health, 19 June 2014, www.health.nsw.gov.au/statehealthplan/Pages/NSW-state-health-plan-towards-2021.aspx. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

Pauka, Charles. "Palliative Care: NSW Health Must Improve." Government News, 18 Aug. 2017, www.governmentnews.com.au/2017/08/palliative-care-nsw-health-must-improve. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

"Respecting the Difference: An Aboriginal Cultural Training Framework for NSW Health." NSW Health, 14 Nov. 2017, www.health.nsw.gov.au/workforce/aboriginal/Pages/respecting-the-difference.aspx. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.