It is part of a major restructure for NSW Health announced by Health Minister Jillian Skinner today that will slash 300 head office and middle-management roles to "free up more than $80 million” for frontline services.
Ms Skinner said eHealth NSW would drive innovation, improve implementation of "vital” e-health initiatives, and provide IT support to facilities across the state.
The changes are based on recommendations made in the Director-General’s Governance Review, released today.
"The new structure will provide greater transparency and accountability, duplication of tasks will be stopped and there will be greater clarity of roles and responsibilities,” Ms Skinner said.
The three former "clusters” - established last year by the former Labor government - supporting area health services will be abolished, shedding around 200 jobs while about 100 positions will go from the head office in North Sydney.
Instead, resources will be shifted to the new, smaller Local Health Districts, governed by local boards of directors; legislation to establish these arrangements came into effect on July 1.
Some statewide functions and services will be handled by the four "pillar agencies” created as a result of the Garling inquiry into hospital services in 2008-09: Clinical Innovation; Clinical Excellence Commission; the Health Education and Training Institute and the Bureau of Health Information.
As well, Ms Skinner said the department would be recast as the NSW Ministry of Health.
"The new ministry will focus on policy, funding and performance of a more devolved system,” she said. "It will be reduced in size and have a flatter structure as the Local Health Networks take greater control.”
Director-General of NSW Health, Mary Foley said the current ICT governance model could be regarded as a "half-way house”, with staff and functions spread between the department, Health Support Services -- which is responsible for major corporate and clinical system rollouts -- and the area health service-based IT services presently located in the clusters.
"Successful e-health implementations on the scale of NSW Health require whole-of-system commitment and strong leadership,” Dr Foley said.
"eHealth NSW will become the system leader for the health information strategy, forward planning and delivery.
"It will be governed from within the (government-owned) Health Administration Corp and, in the immediate term, co-managed with HealthShare NSW (which will provide non-IT shared services like linen, food, warehousing, procurement and recruitment).”
Dr Foley said the statewide rollout of major systems would be supplemented with "pervasive clinical engagement at the local level, involving multiple testing and iterations of new systems” before they go-live.
"eHealth has enormous potential to transform healthcare delivery, whether by improving efficiency through digital radiology, finance and HR systems, reducing errors through e-prescribing, or increased patient empowerment and convenience through personal e-health records, telehealth and home monitoring,” she said.
"It is critical that an early objective is a re-setting of strategy based on extensive consultation with clinicians and other users, and the redesign of IT governance to ensure clear statewide plans and an appropriate balance with local initiatives.”
Dr Foley said an integrated Information Systems Strategic Plan would be developed, "with clear and deliverable milestones and realistic timelines”.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Health Information will continue in its role as an independent public watchdog, with expanded responsibilities for transparent reporting on patient safety and performance of the healthcare system.
Ms Skinner said the initial changes, including the establishment of eHealth NSW, were due for completion by the end of the year.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Karen Dearne
Quelle/Source: Australian IT, 24.08.2011
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