Welcome to the new fortnightly NSW Health newsletter, Check in. This newsletter brings together the latest news from across the system including information on COVID-19.
Every day I hear stories of how our staff in hospitals and health services across the state are delivering innovative, expert and compassionate care in incredibly challenging circumstances that have been sustained now for well over two years.
This week, I saw firsthand the devastation of the floods in Northern NSW and how local health services quickly responded to ensure the very best care is provided to the people of their communities despite many of them being personally affected by the floods themselves. I was in awe of the determination, community spirit, dedication and commitment shown by the NNSW staff and deeply grateful to those who have travelled from other parts of NSW Health to assist them.
Words cannot express the admiration and gratitude we feel toward each and every one of you.
I hope you enjoy the new look newsletter, and feel proud of the work and the people of NSW Health.
Susan Pearce
Secretary, NSW Health
The TGA has recently approved the use of the Novavax (Nuvaxovid) COVID-19 vaccine as a booster for people aged 18 years and older if no other COVID-19 vaccine is considered suitable.
The Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines remain the preferred vaccines for booster doses for the majority of people.
The Novavax vaccine is available through participating GPs, pharmacies, and a limited number of NSW Health vaccination clinics.
For more information see ATAGI recommendations for COVID-19 boosters
The past couple of weeks have been a difficult time for the Northern NSW region. Many local communities have experienced significant loss, and a special thank you goes out to our incredible staff who have continued to provide care to patients, all whilst many have been personally affected themselves, losing homes, property or businesses.
There have been increases in emergency department presentations due to the flooding, and in some cases, 30-50 per cent more than the usual number of certain presentations such as open wounds, skin problems and gastrointestinal illness.
To boost the local workforce and help alleviate some press on flood affected local staff, Northern NSW LHD asked for assistance and were pleased to welcome staff from across the state including Western Sydney, Northern Sydney, Sydney, Mid North Coast, and Hunter New England local health districts as well as Ambulance NSW, who responded to their call for support.
These generous nursing, clinical, paramedic and mental health staff are supporting local staff and helping to ensure people in affected local communities can continue to access healthcare services at this challenging time. We thank you for your ongoing efforts.
The Minister for Health released the NSW LGBTIQ+ Health Strategy 2022-2027 this week. As the first of its kind in NSW, it provides a systemwide approach for NSW Health to understand and address the health and wellbeing needs of our LGBTIQ+ population.
This includes the health, wellbeing and safety of our health staff who are LGBTIQ+.
This new strategy has been built on the voices, experiences, and insights of over 1,600 LGBTIQ+ people across the State and more than 750 NSW Health staff. Thank you to every member of staff who provided their valuable time and expertise to this work.
Achievement of these strategic priorities across the system will be supported by an Implementation Plan, as well as a Summary of Evidence document that provides NSW Health staff with greater data and insights about LGBTIQ+ health.
A safe, welcoming, and inclusive health system is what NSW Health must always be.
We recognised the incredible work our social workers do in making a difference to the lives of others, including Sophie, Valerie and Amy on World Social Day on 15 March.
Sophie Fletcher, from Western NSW Local Health District and also a finalist for the Allied Health Award's Early Career Allied Health Professional of the Year, loves the empowering and holistic approach social workers take when working with people.
"I find it honoring when clients share their incredible and often hard life stories with me, and it's so rewarding to build rapport with them and encourage them through some of the hardest times in their lives."
Valerie, an Opioid Treatment Program Social Worker at Murrumbidgee Local Health District, finds it rewarding that there is always the potential for betterment.
"If someone wants to change and put in the work, they are more than capable of making that change in their lives. I love my job."
Amy Vidaic, a Social Worker in the Cancer Centre for Children at The Children's Hospital at Westmead is privileged to hear families' stories and help them find a voice when theirs may be quietened by circumstances out of their control.
"Being able to advocate and stand alongside those who need it most is what motivates me to keep doing what I do every day."
Thank you to all our social workers for your incredible work!
NSW Health staff, as workers, parents and valued community members are encouraged to learn more about the new NSW Health vaping campaign.
Launched to raise awareness and education of the health risks of vaping in young people aged 14 to 17 years, the toolkit is a perfect resource for teens, their parents, educators, health and other professionals, and community health organisations.
There is information and strategies to help educate and protect young people from the harms of e-cigarettes.
The biggest misunderstanding about vapes is that they are harmless compared to cigarettes. This is not true. Vapes are not safe.
Use of e-cigarettes among young people in NSW is increasing despite it being illegal to sell any vape or e-liquid to anyone under 18 years.
Parents and carers, school staff and the NSW Department of Education are reporting increased prevalence of e-cigarettes amongst school students, including on school premises.
The increase in vaping amongst young people is putting them at risk of adverse health effects. Vapes can contain the same harmful chemicals found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer and bug spray. The nicotine in many vapes can put a young person at increased risk of depression and anxiety. Importantly, many of the long-term harms of vaping are still unknown.
There is also evidence that the use of e-cigarettes, either with or without nicotine, may provide a gateway to a lifetime of nicotine addiction.
Research has shown that among non-smokers, young people who use e-cigarettes are three times as likely to take up tobacco smoking as those who have not used e-cigarettes.
Interested in finding out more about the campaign or sharing our assets? Head to the NSW Health Intranet - Vaping
Get the facts and access the Vaping Toolkit.
The latest multilingual resources, available on the NSW Health website:
After a career spanning more than 40 years at NSW Health, Mark Hopley is retiring.
Mark started his career in finance at Lewisham Hospital, followed by senior finance roles at Western Sydney and Nepean Blue Mountains local health districts, as well as HealthShare.
He has spent the last four years in the activity based management team at Ministry of Health. He took a lead role in setting the state price for activity based funding, developing outcome budget schedules and budget tools, innovation during COVID-19 and ensuring financial interests were protected and maximised.
His vision and building of analytical models with his team have allowed NSW Health to keep abreast of significant and frequent changes in health funding. This model has been shared nationally to assist in the interpretation of guidelines. Subsequently, he received a Healthcare Financial Management Association award.
Thank you, Mark for your incredible contribution to the NSW Health system!
NSW Health recently launched the NSW Virtual Care Strategy 2021 – 2026 and supporting guide for patients, carers, families and the community. The Strategy builds on the foundational and innovative work of local health districts, specialty health networks, primary health networks and other health partners across NSW.
It will continue to advance the excellent work of the Virtual Care Accelerator, by scaling and embedding safe, accessible, quality virtual care across the state. The Strategy is supported by an implementation plan that will be led by the NSW Virtual Care Taskforce. More information about the Taskforce is available on Virtual Care Central.
Two key priority areas identified to achieve statewide consistency are:
More information about virtual care is available on the NSW Health website.
New reports show COVID-19 impact
The Bureau of Health Information (BHI) has released two new reports this week examining the impact of COVID-19 on the NSW healthcare system in 2021.
The latest Healthcare Quarterly reports on public hospital and ambulance services for the October to December 2021 quarter. Detailed results are available on the BHI Data Portal where you can find and compare results at a NSW level, local health district level, for the 77 larger hospitals, and 91 local ambulance areas.
The latest COVID-19 weekly data overview report is now available:In the week ending 12 March 2022:
Updated COVID-19 data is available from NSW Health - COVID-19 statistics.
The Critical Intelligence Unit COVID-19 Monitor provides a snapshot of topical information and graphs – generally drawn from international and national sources. This week the Monitor provides updated data on COVID-19 cases, variants, vaccines, hospitalisations and deaths.
In the past week, the Critical Intelligence Unit Daily Digest has included a range of new articles:
The Daily Digest is available via the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) website. To receive the Digest each morning, sign-up by emailing Critical Intelligence Unit.
The Critical Intelligence Unit continues to provide:
If you are interested in contributing stories, photos or updates – please send them through to MOH-ICSE@health.nsw.gov.au so we can celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of our people across NSW.
We hope you stay well and continue to practise physical distancing.
Health check in is sent directly to all employees across the health system to keep you informed of important updates. Email story ideas, suggestions or feedback.