02 September 2010

NSW GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES NEW HEALTH WEBSITE FOR PATIENTS

Deputy Premier and Minister for Health, Carmel Tebbutt, today launched a new consumerfocused website providing practical, easy-to-access information about the NSW public health system for patients and their families.

“The Government believes it‟s important people have ready access to information about their public health system. This new website gives them the most current information, hospital-by-hospital,” Ms Tebbutt said.

“The 'Your Health Service' website brings together the many reports published by NSW Health into a simple and easy to use „one-stop-shop‟.”

The new website will also present infection control data, giving the community in NSW the most comprehensive and accessible hospital-based information in the country.

“Patients deserve to know how effectively our public hospitals are fighting infection and for that reason hospital infection control results will be published on the „Your Health Service‟ website.

“The website will outline the core services provided at each health facility, as well as performance data on key aspects of the public health system at a local level.

“Waiting times for surgery will be listed – based on the most recent quarterly data – as well as Emergency Department performance results, relative to national benchmarks.

“As new performance data is released by the Independent Bureau of Health Information it will be uploaded to the website, to ensure patients continue to have access to up-date-information.

“As recommended by Mr Peter Garling, the website will also provide details on each hospital‟s budget, the number of beds and, importantly, the contact details of people running each hospital, such as the General Manager, the Director of Nursing and Midwifery, and Patient Care representatives.”

Other Practical information about hospitals will also be featured, including:

• locations and facilities;
• interactive maps;
• information on the availability and the location of services such as parking facilities, the pharmacy, public transport, interpreter services, shopping and ATMs; and
• For out-of-town visitors, a search facility for accommodation close to the hospital.

“'Your Health Service' will detail how many people are using our Emergency Departments and how many are admitted to hospital from the ED. The figures show that the NSW public health system is caring for record numbers of people, right across the state.”

The 'Your Health Service' website will cover 276 public health facilities across NSW – the nation's largest public health system.

The Your Health Service website can be accessed from the NSW Health homepage at: www.health.nsw.gov.au

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