The NSW Ministry of Health supports the executive and statutory roles of the Minister for Health and Minister for Regional Health, Minister for Mental Health and Minister for Medical Research.
The NSW Ministry of Health also has the role of ‘system manager’ in relation to the NSW public health system, which operates more than 220 public hospitals, as well as providing community health and other public health services, for the NSW community through a network of local health districts, specialty networks and non-government affiliated health organisations, known collectively as NSW Health.
The Ministry of Health guides the development of services and investments in the NSW public health system to ensure that the health priorities of the NSW Government are achieved for the community of NSW.
New South Wales Health also comprises a number of state-wide or specialist health services:
NSW Ambulance is responsible for providing responsive, high quality clinical care in emergency situations, including pre-hospital care, rescue, retrieval and patient transport services.
Health Infrastructure is responsible for the delivery of the NSW Government’s major works hospital building program, under the auspices of a Board appointed by the Secretary. The Board Members each offer specialised expertise in areas of health and infrastructure delivery.
HealthShare NSW provides high-quality shared services to support the delivery of patient care within the NSW Health system, including providing payroll and procurement functions, supporting patient care through food and linen services and assisting people with a disability to live and participate in the community.
NSW Health Pathologyis a state-wide clinical and scientific service that provides quality, reliable public pathology, forensic and analytical science services across NSW.
eHealth NSW provides state-wide leadership on the shape, delivery and management of Information Communication Technology (ICT) led healthcare. eHealth NSW is responsible for establishing, implementing and ensuring compliance with eHealth strategy, policy and standards across the state.
Reporting to the Chief Health Officer, Health Protection NSW is responsible for surveillance and public health response in NSW including monitoring the incidence of notifiable infectious diseases and taking appropriate action to control the spread of diseases. It also provides public health advice and response to environmental issues affecting human health.
Contact your nearest Public Health Unit
There are 15 local health districts that are responsible for providing health services in a wide range of settings, from primary care posts in the remote outback to metropolitan tertiary health centres. Six local health districts cover the greater Sydney metropolitan regions, and nine cover rural and regional NSW.
Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network is a state wide service that provides forensic mental health services to forensic patients as well as to adult and juvenile offenders in local courts, in custody and detention, and in the community. It also provides health services to adult offenders in police cells.
The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network incorporates The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, Bear Cottage, the Newborn and paediatric Emergency Transport Service (NETS), the Pregnancy and newborn Services Network (PSN) and the Children's Court Clinic. The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network is the largest network of hospital and services for children in Australia. Each year the network manages 51,000 inpatient admissions, 92,000 Emergency Department presentations and over one million outpatient occasions of service. The team of over 4000 talented staff (full time equivalent) across the network is committed to providing world-class paediatric health care in a family-focused, healing environment.
Agency for Clinical Innovation is a chief executive-governed statutory health corporation responsible for bringing clinicians, consumers and system leaders together to design and implement innovations in healthcare. The Agency is committed to improving, evolving and transforming clinical practice and patient outcomes across the NSW Health system.
Bureau of Health Information is a board-governed organisation that provides independent reports to government, the community and healthcare professionals about the performance of the NSW public healthcare system, including safety and quality, effectiveness, efficiency, cost and responsiveness of the system to the health needs of the people of NSW.
Cancer Institute NSW is Australia’s first statewide government cancer agency. Established under the Cancer Institute (NSW) Act 2003 to lessen the impact of cancer across the State, its statutory objectives are to reduce the incidence of cancer in the community, increase survival from cancer, and improve the quality of life for people with cancer and their carers and provide a source of expertise on cancer control for the government, health service providers, medical researchers and the general community.
Clinical Excellence Commission is a board-governed statutory health corporation, responsible for leading safety and quality improvement in the NSW public health system. It was established in 2004 to reduce adverse events in public hospitals, support improvements in transparency and review of these events in the health system and promote improved clinical care, safety and quality in health services across NSW.
Health Education and Training Institute is a Chief Executive-governed statutory health corporation which coordinates education and training for NSW Health staff. The Institute works closely with local health districts, specialty health networks, other public health organisations and health education and training providers to ensure that world-class education and training resources are available to support the full range of roles across the public health system including patient care, administration and support services.
St Vincent’s Health Network is comprised of St Vincent’s Hospital, the Sacred Heart Hospice at Darlinghurst and St Joseph’s Hospital at Auburn.