01 November 2008

Excellence in health care at Greater Southern Area Health Service

NSW Minister for Health John Della Bosca has congratulated the Wagga Wagga Mental Health Service and the Greater Southern Area Health Service for their winning entry in the 10th Annual NSW Health Awards last night.

“The NSW Health Awards provide an opportunity to thank all health staff for continuing to make an outstanding contribution to the wellbeing of the community everyday,” Mr Della Bosca said.

“In particular I congratulate the Wagga Wagga Mental Health Service for their work on promoting emergency care support through a dedicated assessment centre co-located within the hospital’s inpatient unit,” he said.

The winning project Wagga Wagga Mental Health Emergency Care Support Centre won the Make Smart Choices About the Costs and Benefits of Health Services category.

Mr Della Bosca acknowledged this project as an excellent example of using innovative technology to improve access to specialist mental health care via videoconferencing systems to deliver emergency assessments to the region’s district and community hospitals.

“The NSW Health Awards bring to light the talent and passion of health care workers who have developed initiatives to improve the quality of care delivered to patients, the health of the population and performance of the health system in NSW.

“Not only do the Awards recognise hardworking health professionals, they also share information and knowledge across the entire health system.

“In the longer term, sharing of ideas and information will lead to further improvements in health care delivery,” Mr Della Bosca said.

Mr Della Bosca said he was impressed by the high level of innovation, skill and excellence demonstrated by health staff through the NSW Health Awards, which attracted a record level of interest with over 350 local projects reviewed.

“Individuals and teams have worked tirelessly to develop initiatives which address the challenges of the health system. These Awards are one way of acknowledging their achievements,” Mr Della Bosca said.

“I congratulate all the finalists and winners of this year’s NSW Health Awards for their skills and commitment to improving healthcare delivery in our state,” he said.

For more details on the winners and finalists of the 2008 NSW Health Awards go to www.awards-expo.health.nsw.gov.au.

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