The Greater Metropolitan Transition Taskforce (GMTT)
In November 2001, the Minister established the Greater Metropolitan Transition Taskforce (GMTT) to implement the GMSIG recommendations.
The GMTT was guided by a Committee of 40 clinicians and consumers with a broad interest in health care. To plan how the recommendations of the GMSIG Report could best be implemented, the GMTT brought together clinicians and consumers interested in identified specialty areas.
These groups examined the provision of health care across the metropolitan area, identifying where the greatest needs were for service enhancements, new facilities or better networking to best utilise resources. The focus was on improving the quality of patient care and improving equity of access and outcome. Innovative approaches to service delivery were proposed where this would enhance the quality of care.
In August 2002 the NSW Government provided $64.6m in annual recurrent funding and $9m in capital to support the GMTT initiatives. Metropolitan (District) Hospitals across Greater Metropolitan NSW benefited from an injection of targeted funding to support high priority projects - see Metropolitan Hospitals Report.
Some 20 clinical networks were developed. Some of these groups are now auspiced by other bodies. Networks link services between hospitals, across Area Health Service boundaries and in some cases now operate on a state-wide basis. Each group developed an appropriate committee structure to address its identified priorities and Network Managers were employed to pursue service development objectives and to maintain momentum. Networks developed comprehensive plans for their services, identifying associated costs. Where approved, networks commenced implementing these plans with recurrent funding.
In March 2004, Embracing Change, the Report of the GMTT which outlined its achievements, was disseminated. The move towards greater clinical governance has been a significant achievement. A new collegial approach and mindset has meant that clinicians in specialty networks work to ensure that service delivery is based on clinical need, rather than competition between institutions.
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