Sydney Local Health District Service Plan

Executive Summary

Sydney Local Health District in collaboration with government related departments consider executing community consultation about the healthcare service and draft a service healthcare service plan. The partnership will enhance useful information related with community views and perspectives on the needs of healthcare. The District Healthcare Services plan is set for five years for the healthcare services in SLHD. The plan will establish the future direction for the Clinical streams in SLHD, focusing on strategic priorities for the District and Hospitals and community health services. The plan unit manages, develops and coordinates district wide strategic, facility and service plans for Sydney Local Health District. Planning has been undertaken in line with the District’s mission and vision.

Introduction

The overall goal of Sydney Local Health District service plan is to ensure that there is an improvement of the oral and mental health for communities and people living and receiving healthcare in Sydney Local Health District (SLHD). The service plan will ensure that there is the provision of enhanced community-based and inpatient services that will meet the continuous population growth (NSW Government, 2015). As well, the service plan will be designed toward provision of care for the large homeless population in the district. The service plan will be devoted toward provision of accessible services to the Aboriginal as well as culturally diversified societies. There are targets to respond to the ever-changing models of healthcare (South Western Sydney Local Health District (N.S.W.), 2016). The District service plan will make sure that there is the development of an effective detention, screening, and treatment of physical health issues for individual who endures mental health issues. Other issues that will be addressed are enhanced partnership with the government-funded services especially on core areas of employment, homelessness, training and sustained accommodation (NSW Government, 2015).

In dealing with these issues, the Sydney Local Health District will maintain a continued partnership with other mental health care providers. This will be in line with the NWS “Whole of Government” approach aimed at dealing with oral and mental health-related issues (South Western Sydney Local Health District (N.S.W.), 2016). Partners, in this case, will be such as non-governmental organizations, Inner West Sydney Medicare Local and other related government departments such as police, Education, Housing, Ambulance and Community and Family Services. Capacity to improve the mental health of individuals, as well as the provision of advanced mental health services, is key priorities for the NSW government and the Commonwealth (NSW Government, 2015).

Planning Principles

Under the Health Services Act of 1997, Boards holds the functions of making sure that the service plan and strategic plans are set and directed toward guiding the delivery of services. At Sydney Local Health District, the service plan is essential since it integrates the tactical precedence that is well established (NSW Government, 2015). Other plans will consider meeting the specific clinical and community health services that must be in line with Clinical Service Plan. There will be a population-based plan aimed at identification of strategies to meet the needs of communities that have access to services within clinical networks, community and hospital setting (Schmied et al., 2015).  Support and enabling service plan will offer organization foundation for the clinical service planning process. Some of the planning ethics that will be covered in the service plan are:

• Improving service integration within Sydney Local Health District, across all healthcare, with the partnership of NGO service delivery system, and community and primary health services (South Western Sydney Local Health District (N.S.W.), 2016).
• Supporting the community and primary based service delivery partnership in care delivery to ensure that population is kept out of hospitals especially patients who suffer from severe chronic and complex health conditions (Petrunoff et al., 2013).
• Improve on the service delivery efficient and take forecast of future areas of required services
• Partner with private organization, NGO, and not-for-profit sectors

Sydney Local Health District has been overconfident with its healthcare service excellence, high-quality education, leadership in clinical care and being a world leading organization in areas of research (South Western Sydney Local Health District (N.S.W.), 2016). This service plan is designed for supporting the continuing development of the District key principles. The vision of Sydney Local Health District has been to attain “excellence in healthcare for all” which has been in line with the NWS Health direction (NSW Government, 2015). To achieve the vision, there is the need to have priority setting, innovative and supportive leadership as well as highly skilled employees working with the partner, strengthened by the core principles of:

• Openness: achieve transparency in performance improvement processes which will be crucial in making sure that facts are well known and accepted, despite if at a time they may be prickly (Nicholson, Jackson, & Marley, 2014).
• Collaboration: sustaining and improving the performance which will depend upon everyone within the system working as a great team
• Respect: it will entail role of everyone in engaging and improving performance that is valuable (NSW Government, 2015).
• Empowerment: ensure that there is trust from all sides and within all levels with accountable designation of responsibility and ability

The service plan will be aligned with the novel NSW State Plan and be in line with the NSW State Health Plan. Sydney Local Health District will have a key role in:

• Ensuring that people remain healthy and kept out of hospitals
• Provide world-class clinical care with appropriate right of entry as well as efficient infrastructure (Semrau et al., 2015).
• Deliver patient and family interior care
• Ensure there are quality services for Aboriginal health, dental health, and mental health
• Manage health services efficiently and promote local decision-making process

Sydney Local Health District service plan will be based on various core domains. These domains are our Consumers, Patients, Carers, Our Staff, Our Services, Our Organization, Our Education, Our Community, Our Research. For every domain goals, strategies and attainable timeframes have been set (Haigh et al., 2013).

 Demographic Analysis

There are 15 Local Health District in the Sydney District. One Local Health center tends to cover an average area of 900 and incorporate 11 local government areas. For the case of management reasons, the SLHD tends to be divided into three health services. In the year 2016, the population of the area was estimated as 889,134. Of these population, 22.1 percent were born from non-English speaking nations and one among five communicated with other languages rather than English. A total population of 2,567 residents of the area was identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (NSW Government, 2015).

However, between the year 2015 and 2025, the population is expected to increase by almost 13.6 percent to be above one million. Despite that, there will be a high rate of growth of people aged above 70 years. The region is characterized by individuals who are from low average disadvantaged class as well as higher levels of private health insurance with almost 70 percent of the population having private covers (Friesen et al., 2014). With a high level of disadvantaged class, there are relatively high rates of people who live alone in the region. In general, the health risk factor in the region and the standardized mortality rate tend to be lower than the state average. Despite this, the region is marked with higher mortality rate associated with stroke disease (South Western Sydney Local Health District (N.S.W.), 2016).

Needs Assessment

Sydney Local Health District Service plan targets healthier communities where all families, communities, and individuals will be able to take merit of best healthcare as possible with the utilization of evidence-based programs (NSW Government, 2015). This program will ensure that there is the prevention of health issues and reduce disabilities. Capacity will be motivated for individuals and communities and make an improvement on the health and attain full engagement in health promotion activities and come up with a physical and social environment which will support healthier activities (Briggs et al., 2015).

Healthier communities and leading care will as well presume that there is excellent partnership all through multidisciplinary collaboration and affiliation with communities, individuals and agencies (NSW Government, 2015). This partnership will entail an understanding of the community values and needs with the support of flawless permanence of care, service, program delivery and integrated planning. Innovation will be attained with the demonstration of the culture of inquiry as well as an exploration of newer ways in the service delivery (Petrunoff et al., 2013).

Service profile within Sydney LHD

Sydney Local Health District incorporates main referral hospitals at Royal Prince Alfred and Concord Repatriation General Hospitals at Balmain and Canterbury. In addition, SLHD incorporates the tertiary oral healthcare facility and the Sydney Dental Hospital. The District has a wide-ranging variety of community-based health services. Care services tend to be connected with primary care providers such as local principal healthcare system. The District enjoys benefits of having an effective and strong medical flow management program that has been in operation for many years (South Western Sydney Local Health District (N.S.W.), 2013a).

Clinical Directors tend to offer strategic leadership and work closely with the senior managers to make sure that services delivered are of high quality, relevant and are effective when it comes to assembling needs of the catchment populations. The workforce of SLHD comprises more than 11,000 staffs. Of all the staffs, 5,000 are nurses, 1,500 are medical staffs, 1,200 are support and allied healthcare staffs and 500 are oral health staffs (NSW Government, 2015).

Current Activity Levels

In the year 205/2016, hospitals within Sydney Local Health District were able to offer 149,976 emergency department services, more than 152,629 inpatient operations, more than 571,407 occupied bed days, more than 2 million outpatient services, 41,810 surgical operations in theatres, and 9,763 other surgical cases outside the theatres. Across RPA and Canterbury Hospital, 6,890 babies were delivered. In total, 73 percent of the hospital episodes (day and night) for the SLHD populations were offered at the SLHD hospitals (South Western Sydney Local Health District (N.S.W.), 2016).

Catchment and Reverse Catchment Profile

Sydney Local Health District has been extensively documented and significant in core areas of research and teaching with the best class research groups in biomedical, clinical research, population, and public health and health services (Watling, 2015). The District has been widely recognized as the leader in development if innovative models related to care, with skilled staffs and established medical services. Services at the hospitals have been considered to be of the highest levels and there are varieties of services that are offered within state-wide basis. Such services are networked with other local hospitals services in the District (South Western Sydney Local Health District (N.S.W.), 2016).

Situational Analysis

There are various strategic issues and priorities that will be addressed by the District in the Service plan. They include:

• The implementation process of Aboriginal workforce framework that will require 2.6 percent of the District staff be of the Aboriginal background by the year 2019.
• Implementation of the District Healthcare Service Plan with other related plans such as Asset Strategic Plan, Education Strategic Plan, Communication, Plan, Research Strategic Plan, Community Ambulatory Plan, and Out-of-Hospital Care Plan plus any other facilitating plan (Smith et al., 2013).
• Plan and implement family and patient-centered care which will incorporate fully incorporate care
• Development of service and bed capacity to ensure that increased demand is met incorporating additional acute, tertiary and sub-acute capacity, improved imaging and technical developments (Kenny et al., 2013).
• Develop formal research governance process and structure aimed at supporting research ground development as well as the pursuit of strategic goals with education and research associates (Wilkes, Luck & O’Baugh, 2015).
• Come up with excellent information and communication technologies
• Prepare and effectively implement Activity Based Funding
• Make sure there are efficient business progressions

Future Services Profile

SLDH will ensure that there is a plan that considers ongoing system, support staffs and quality assurance measures that would promote high quality, integrated, family and patient-centered care. In addition, SLDH will ensure that there will be excellent engagement with the community organizations, relevant stakeholders, and partners to achieve integrated, healthy, communication and quality care improvements (South Western Sydney Local Health District (N.S.W.), 2016). In relation to services, SLHD will address Aboriginal health issues and inequity with the partnership with other institutions. As well, it will ensure that District bed and care capacity is met. Strategies that are sustainable will be developed for maintenance upgrade and purchase of critical care, imaging and operatives (South Western Sydney Local Health District (N.S.W.), 2013b).

In core area of infrastructure development, SLHD will increase bed and service capacity within the District to be in line with the forecasted demand. In addition, plans will be developed for the expected capital infrastructure. In areas of information and communication technology developments, the SLHD will implement interconnectivity, flexibility, data management enhancement as well as medical and administrative information systems (South Western Sydney Local Health District (N.S.W.), 2016). For the staffs, SLHD will set strategies that will address workforce-related issues, education, recruitment, staff support, development and workplace culture. Strategies will ensure that staffs have skills required in undertaking core roles and be able to manage changes. Finally, for the organization, SLHD will ensure that financial, planning capabilities and performance monitoring will be attained with activity based funding.  In addition, SLHD will offer efficient and transparent human resource process and systems.

Key Goals, Objectives, Strategies

Recommendation

Sydney Local Health District needs to embark on the determined programs for strategic, services and asset planning process. It needs to come up with cascading plans and strategies that are excellently drafted to deal with the community care requirements. This would require reflection of the board priorities, the Health Ministry requirements and the outcome from various communities and consultations.

Conclusion

This service plan for Sydney Local Health District has a reflection of overarching strategies within the District. These strategies and plan reflect the mission, values, and vision of the District, capabilities and core functions. The service plan highlights the need for District leadership process which is leading in education and research as well as robust in the service delivery incorporating tertiary and quaternary services.