State-wide hospital review
Source: New South Wales. Minister for Health. Media Release.
"NSW Minister for Health, John Della Bosca, has announced a clinician-led state-wide review to assess each public hospital’s role in providing safe, high quality patient care in the public health network.
Mr Della Bosca said the initiative followed a recommendation of Commissioner Garling, to assess and evaluate the volume and quality of hospital services and how the workforce can provide safe care.
The Special Commission of Inquiry recommended (Rec 117) the following actions:
• Determine whether each hospital’s location, workforce, surrounding population,state of repair and equipment, delivers safe patient care;
• Re-allocate specialist medical services to hospitals in NSW best placed to deliver those services;
• Ensure a clear delineation of the role of each hospital – what it can and can’t do;
• Develop a set of criteria on patient safety, necessary workforce skills and the volume and quality of services in all NSW public hospitals;
• Help communities understand the role of their local hospital and its limitations;
• Consider the availability of an efficient transport and retrieval system to take patients to the hospital best placed to provide the medical service they require,and return them to their original location."