Local Safeguards teams are opening the door to mental healthcare for 1,400 children in crisis. They are supported by coaching, education, and tools in redesign and change management to implement sustainable change.
NSW Health Safeguards teams are dedicated mental health teams providing innovative, best practice care for children and adolescents who are experiencing acute mental health distress. Safeguards generally provides support over six to eight weeks and will then link the young person to local professionals or agencies who can provide ongoing support if needed.
Launched in September 2021, this statewide initiative is being rolled out across local health districts (LHDs) and specialty health networks (SHNs) over four years.
Partnering for success
The Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) has developed the Safeguards Redesign Capability Program to support the rollout. The program equips teams to apply a structured methodology to service redesign and implement a local model of care in their district or network.
“We are giving clinicians the skills to put the Safeguards program into action in a sustainable way, as well as sharing methods and tools they can use for future projects,” explains Clementia Yap, Capability Manager for Partnerships and Priority Projects.
This has involved 20 workshops, 10 site-specific workshops, 18 site visits and 399 individual and team coaching sessions. Activities have been delivered face-to-face and virtually to offer a range of opportunities for connection.
One-on-one coaching and mentoring provide an opportunity for teams to receive more personalised support and help with troubleshooting, while targeted tools and resources are also available.
Collaborative learning
A learning community has been established among Safeguards teams. Capability activities such as workshops and panel discussions are designed to foster knowledge sharing about lessons learnt, new ideas and reflections between teams.
This allows participants to share their different perspectives, such as engaging with Aboriginal communities for the Safeguards project.
"One of the most valuable aspects of the program was creating connections among the Safeguards teams,” says Gareth Brown, Clinical Manager, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, who has been involved in Safeguards since 2022 and served as an expert on a workshop panel.
“Learning about redesign and implementation methodology is something we found incredibly useful. We wouldn’t have had access to this without the capability program.”
“The ACI program has brought local Safeguards teams together based on the needs of each team, allowing those facing a problem to speak with someone who has worked out a solution or is doing it well.”
Building skills for sustainable change
A critical part of the capability program was providing teams with information and skills in sustainment, to allow Safeguards to maintain momentum beyond the life of the four-year program. This includes looking at governance, continuous quality improvement, use of data and listening to consumer voices.
"The workshop gave us a framework that clearly outlined the principles that will help us sustain ongoing change and improvements to the service we provide," explains Georgia Farrar, from the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network. "Since the workshop, we've identified local factors that are an important part of the framework, and built them into the plan to implement our service in children's hospitals."
Rewarding success
Our Safeguards team was recently honoured at the ACI Staff Excellence Awards with the ‘Impact Award’.
"We're thrilled to be recognised for our work. It speaks to what we all feel in the team, which is a genuine dedication and passion for building redesign capability in local teams to make a real difference for children and adolescents experiencing acute mental distress," says Clementia, who leads the team.