18 November 2004

Strong results for $300 million South Western Sydney Health Plan

Minister for Health, Morris Iemma said today that the $300 million Clinical Service Plan for South Western Sydney is attracting specialist medical staff and expanding access to services for people in the region.

The Plan was launched in June after seven months of development and consultation with more than 500 clinical staff.

It is a blueprint for the creation of a co-ordinated network of health services rather than a focus on individual hospital services.

“The Plan put forward 389 recommendations for a more co-ordinated network of care and work on implementation is well and truly in full swing,” Mr Iemma said.

“Resources have been enhanced, senior clinical appointments have commenced and specialist services have been expanded.

“There is a lot more work to be done but the results to date are very encouraging.”

Mr Iemma said some of the highlights of the implementation of the Plan to date include:

Liverpool Hospital

• The Sustainable Access Plan saw 15 permanent transitional care beds opened at with a further five still to come on line.
• An additional 10 beds for acute patients opened over winter will remain open at a cost of $1.5 million.
• Two additional staff specialists are now working in the Emergency Department.
• An extra intensive care registrar has joined the ICU team.
• The Intensive Care Unit has an additional $600,000 bed for critically ill patients.
• The neo-natal Intensive Care Unit has an additional $500,000 cot for our sickest babies; and
• A $300,000 Acute Response Unit, which provides a single point of access to staff who need to transfer critically ill patients is now up and running 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Campbelltown and Camden Hospitals

• An additional seven medical registrar positions have been filled.
• 10 additional acute care beds remain open under the Sustainable Access Plan.
• Neurology services have been enhanced with the appointment of a staff specialist and a registrar.
• A new $600,000 specialist cardiology service is available with a roster of four cardiologists working to develop Campbelltown Hospital as the region’s centre of excellence in heart failure; and
• Intensive care services have been enhanced with medical cover being provided by staff specialists on rotation from Liverpool Hospital.

Bankstown Hospital

• $1 million has been ploughed into nursing home beds, transitional care services and community care packages to facilitate earlier discharge for older patients who cannot access a Commonwealth funded nursing home bed.

Fairfield Hospital

• An additional paediatric staff specialist joined the Hospital in October.
• A new staff specialist in cardiology will start full time work in January; and
• $500,000 to expand intensive care services and provide an on-call ICU specialist.

Specialist Medical Staff

“Professor Jeremy Wilson has been appointed to a special role as Executive Clinical Director overseeing the implementation of all of the recommendations of the Plan.”

“Funding for an additional 39 registrars to work across the Area has been approved and recruitment has commenced.”

Of the 12 clinical service streams established under the Plan, the following co-director appointments have recently been made:

• Complex and Primary Care Services - Associate Professor Brad Frankum
• Critical Care Services - Professor Ken Hillman
• Allied Health and Clinical Support Services - Anthony Schembri
• Gastroenterology and Liver Services - Dr Neil Merrett
• Surgical Services - Dr Mark Sheridan
• Cardiovascular Services – Dr Bruce French
• Child, Youth and Family Services - Dr Andrew McDonald

For a range of health information, go online to www.health.nsw.gov.au