The Henry Review: Health Services for Children, Young People and Families in the NSW Health System

The Review of health services for children, young people and families within the NSW Health system by Emeritus Professor Richard Henry AM (the Henry Review) was commissioned by the Minister for Health and Medical Research and focused on the governance and delivery of health services to children, young people and families in NSW.
 
Dr Nigel Lyons and Dr Paul Craven are the co-chairs of the time-limited Henry Review Implementation Committee that is designing the implementation plan and driving early actions in response to the 77 recommendations. Committee members include clinicians, consumers and senior representatives from metropolitan and rural local health districts, the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, primary health care networks, the Ministry of Health, the Agency for Clinical Innovation and the Clinical Excellence Commission.
 

Outcomes from the second Committee meeting

At the second meeting, held on 3 September 2020, the following was achieved:
 

1. All recommendations have been assigned for implementation planning

A clear lead has been confirmed for each recommendation, who will advise the committee on how the recommendation will be delivered. The committee will review and approve the proposed approach to deliver each recommendation including the scope, timeframes and measures of success.

2. The format for the Henry Review Implementation Plan has been agreed

Further detail on how each recommendation will be delivered is being provided by the implementation planning leads. This will inform the overarching high-level implementation plan, which will be finalised in December 2020. The plan will be a living document and publicly available.
 

3. In-principle support for the focus of innovation funding on enhanced system navigation  

Paediatric Priority Funding of $2.58m over three years will be made available to improve care system navigation for children and young people with complex care needs, in response to recommendation 29. An Expression of Interest (EOI) will be released shortly.
 

4. A new state-wide governance committee will be established by the end of 2020

This will be the peak governance committee for children, young people and families in NSW in the health system. The committee will agree system level priorities, have oversight of delivery of key strategic policies and programs and report annually to the Secretary. Responsibility for ensuring implementation of the Henry Review recommendations will transition to this new committee from December 2020.
 

The next committee meeting is on 14 October 2020

At the October meeting, the committee will consider options for a state-wide governance structure, processes for reporting and monitoring and discuss implementation risks and mitigation strategies.
Current as at: Friday 25 September 2020
Contact page owner: Disability, Youth and Paediatric Health