The Henry Review Implementation Planning Committee is driving actions in response to the 77 recommendations of 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).
At the Committee’s third meeting held 14 October 2020, the following actions were agreed.
The Committee noted the actions put forward by implementation leads for inclusion in the implementation plan. Examples included the new framework for upskilling opportunities for paediatric nurses; and a new consumer working group to support improvements in mental health care of children and young people.
The next step is to seek additional information where required, to ensure actions are robust and clearly deliver on the intent of Henry Review recommendations.
The Committee agreed that effective consumer involvement is important and that the Health Consumers NSW Principles of Engagement provides a useful model.
A strong consumer lens will help the system focus on delivering outcomes that matter to patients and families and improving experiences of receiving care. The Committee noted several good examples that could be showcased including the Cancer Institute’s patient reported measures program, the Clinical Excellence Commission’s consumer advisory program, Sydney Children's Hospitals Network and John Hunter Kids consumer councils and the Thrive@5 family engagement at Doonside which is a partnership between WentWest Primary Health Network and Western Sydney Local Health District.
In 2021 a new peak Committee will be established, responsible for providing oversight and leadership that strengthens the delivery of NSW Health services for children, young people and families. The new Committee is to be established in recognition by the Henry Review of the need to support decision making and provide greater focus and direction for the system in an ongoing way.
The Henry Review Implementation Committee advised that membership should strike the appropriate balance between those who provide care and those with state-level policy/program roles. The potential role of existing committees and networks and how they intersect with the peak committee will be considered further.
Responsibility for implementation of the Henry Review recommendations will transition to this new committee from December 2020.
The next Henry Review Implementation Planning Committee meeting is scheduled for 25 November 2020.
