Thank you to the clinicians, health managers, consumers and stakeholders who've worked with us throughout 2025 to drive healthcare innovations across NSW.
Clinical network updates
The latest news, moves and events from our clinical networks.
Our new Universal Aftercare resource provides best practice guidance on the delivery of aftercare services in NSW.
The resource is intended for aftercare providers, their partners, service managers and the workforce that supports people after a suicide attempt or crisis.
The resource was co-developed with aftercare stakeholders, is adaptable for local services and offers practical guidance on:
- the safe and effective delivery of universal aftercare services
- support for priority populations at an increased risk of suicide
- suggested governance structures and processes to support service delivery
- workforce development and support.
Introducing our new co-chairs
The network recently welcomed two new co-chairs, Becky Smith and Dr Tom Gleeson.
Becky Smith is the Acting Director of Clinical Operations in Far West Local Health District in Broken Hill. With a background in Occupational Therapy, her career has spanned positions in regional South Australia, and rural and remote Queensland and NSW. Becky was awarded NSW Allied Health Leader of the Year in 2022 and supports health staff to embrace the professional and lifestyle opportunities available in rural and regional NSW.
Dr Tom Gleeson is a Consultant Haematologist in Western NSW Local Health District. Based in Dubbo, he travels to deliver outreach clinics across Western NSW and provides virtual care services. Tom advocates for improving access to medical specialists and is keen to contribute new thinking to tackle healthcare challenges through his role as co-chair.
Learning about rural innovation across NSW
The Rural Innovations Changing Healthcare (RICH) Forum held in April was our most successful yet. A record number of abstracts were received and attendees registered to attend, with more than 95% of participants rating the forum as good or excellent.
Our full-day forum showcases local rural innovation and gives people working in rural health an opportunity to learn from each other and collaborate.
Nina Holland, Principal Evaluation Officer at Western NSW Local Health District’s presentation about using local government area profiles to improve rural health outcomes was so well received she has since held a workshop to give health professionals more insight into this using this approach.
To access presentations and ePosters from the event, join the Rural Health Network.
June is Burn Awareness Month, run by Kidsafe and the Australian and New Zealand Burn Association (ANZBA). This year we are working closely with ANZBA to support the initiative, launch event and reduce burn injuries in our community.
Our updated Burn Injury Prevention and First Aid brochure provides the latest guidance to consumers about how burns can happen; how to perform first aid in the event of a burn; and call emergency for help.
Contact the network if you’d like to order copies of the brochure for your local services and events.
Collaborating to improve stroke care at our annual forum
The ACI Stroke Forum was held in April, bringing together stroke clinicians, managers and service providers from across NSW.
More than 290 online and in-person attendees learned about the range of innovative approaches from local health districts to improve stroke care.
The Dunghutti Stroke Group also shared their work to reimagine the FAST stroke message (Face, Arms, Speech, Time) for Aboriginal communities — a powerful example of a community-led stroke care initiative.
Farewell to Medical Co-Chair Dr James Evans
Thanks to Dr James Evans for his leadership and contribution over the past four years as our Stroke Network Medical Co-Chair.
James has driven important projects such as the NSW Telestroke Service, sustainable stroke care initiatives, six priority areas for stroke and national clinical practice guidelines.
James’ leadership, advice and collaborative approach has been exemplary.
Our next Stroke Medical Co-Chair will be appointed through an expression of interest process which is now open. For more information, please contact the network.
In March, we partnered with Royal Prince Alfred Hospital to host the inaugural Robot-Assisted Surgery Community of Practice.
The community is the foundation for robot-assisted surgery related collaboration and knowledge-sharing across NSW, and the meeting served as a launch for our new Robot-Assisted Surgery Research Framework.
Our conversations included:
- reviewing the new framework
- current capabilities across local health districts
- data collection barriers and enablers.
To join our next session, please contact the network.
Welcome to Tammie Jones
We welcome Tammie Jones as our new Co-Chair, serving alongside Professor Manish Patel. She is a Clinical Nurse Consultant of Urology at John Hunter Hospital and is a passionate advocate for advancing patient outcomes.
Tammie has been a network member since 2022 and is part of the Urology and Continence Nurses Working Group. She has extensive experience in urological nursing care and service improvement, is a clinical educator at the University of Newcastle, and is involved with the NSW Urological Nurses Society and Australia and New Zealand Urological Nurses Society.
We farewell and thank Virginia Ip for her leadership and contributions to the network as Co-Chair since 2012. Virginia also chaired the Urology and Continence Nursing Working Group and led or supported a range of projects, including the inaugural Nephrostomy Workshop, the Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections Project, nursing toolkits and patient resources.
Virginia will remain a much-valued member of the network.
New clinical guidance toolkits
We have published two new toolkits for nursing and medical staff.
The Suprapubic catheter toolkit provides information about how to care for adult patients with a suprapubic catheter. It includes how to manage common problems when changing a suprapubic catheter, and checklists to support assessment of a clinician’s competency (theoretical and practical) to change a suprapubic catheter.
The Bladder scanning toolkit has been updated to support clinicians caring for adult patients who require bladder scanning. It includes guidance on bladder function assessment; bladder scanner use; equipment handling; patient considerations; contraindications; and infection control. Practical tools are available to assess a clinician’s skills in using a bladder scanner; and provide instructions on cleaning the bladder scanner.
Statewide program updates
The latest news, moves and events from our statewide programs.
Congratulations to our graduates in the Certificate in Healthcare Redesign
Congratulations to our newest Certificate in Healthcare Redesign graduates. They’re joining a network of 900+ skilled clinicians and managers who have completed 400+ redesign projects across NSW Health – finding practical solutions to improve care and support clinical teams. At our recent May graduation, Senior Health Planner at TSA Riley Carla Edwards delivered the keynote address about her journey from emergency nurse to health consultant and the impact of solving healthcare challenges. NSW Health Secretary Susan Pearce AM presented the proud graduates with their certificates. The program is delivered with the University of Tasmania and can help your team solve local problems and provide better care.
More about the Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Redesign
Explore the updated Co-Design Toolkit
Our Co-Design Toolkit has been updated for 2025, to provide practical support for individuals and teams working to improve health services.
The toolkit is packed with resources to:
- give you a clear process to collaborate with and seek input from consumers and clinicians
- bring consumers and health staff together with equal respect for lived and professional experience.
Join us at the Patient Reported Measures Symposium
Registrations are open to join us online or in-person at the annual Patient Reported Measures (PRMs) Symposium on Friday, 29 August 2025.
The Symposium brings together clinicians, consumers, researchers, academics and PRMs experts to learn about current advances and best practice in the field.
This year's theme is Driving impactful change: Empowering patient voices for transformative healthcare. Attendees will explore:
- how PRMs are driving meaningful healthcare transformations by providing a platform for patient voices
- how integrating patient-centred data into clinical decision-making, policy and research is making healthcare systems more responsive, personalised and effective.
Register to attend online or in-person.
Virtual Care: Is It Right for Me and My Family? is a new guide supporting people to decide whether to use virtual care. This comprehensive guide was developed with and for healthcare consumers, and includes:
- information on virtual care and its benefits
- examples of when virtual care can be used
- a self-assessment checklist
- conversation starters.
Clinicians can give the guide to their patients, families and carers. Contact us to request the guide as a booklet, as well as posters to help you inform your patients.
Innovation Exchange
The latest projects on the Innovation Exchange will inspire you to make improvements to your own service.
Projects undertaken by recent graduates in the Certificate in Healthcare Redesign are now live on the Innovation Exchange.
Projects from across NSW focus on several topics including best practice mental health care, preventative and timely maternity care, streamlining outpatient processes, improving interpreter services, the use of virtual care and reducing carbon emissions through switching to oral antimicrobials.