Blacktown Hospital swings doors open for health forum: “We need to work together, think different and be brave”

Community members have ventured behind the scenes of Blacktown Hospital’s new building as part of an open day, giving residents a look into the intricate planning and design behind the nine-storey facility.

Guests also enjoyed an array of health stalls and activities, with experts on hand to provide basic health checks and information about diabetes, breast screening, tertiary education, nicotine replacement therapy and organ donation.

The open day was followed by this year’s Western Sydney Health Forum, updating the community on all the highlights from Western Sydney Local Health District’s (WSLHD) 18/19 financial year.

WSLHD’s chief executive Graeme Loy addressed the forum, thanking staff for their commitment and outlining the district’s achievements, challenges and plans for the future.

“We have a workforce of 13,000 staff and they are an amazing group,” Graeme said.

“Over the last financial year we have treated 3.1 million people, provided 44,000 vaccinations to high school students and 128,000 dental treatments.

“There are times where it is tough but I look around at what our staff do and I am very impressed by what they achieve for our region.

“We’ve also invested in our staff by providing more than 200,000 training sessions and improving staff culture.”

Looking to the future, Graeme highlighted the need to move from hospital-centric thinking to healthcare-centric thinking.

“We need to recognise our community’s needs, which is why we are doing a lot of work to move services into the community and people’s homes,” Graeme said.

“I encourage everyone to look to the future with us. Think about how we can possibly improve and divide the services our community needs. We will achieve that if we work together, think different and be brave.”

WSLHD board chair Richard Alcock said he was ‘incredibly proud’ of what staff had achieved over the past 12 months.

“Every year, the challenge to deliver health services grows, but 13,000 of our staff keep showing up, day after day, to provide high quality health care for the people of western Sydney. Thank you,” Richard said.

Senior NewsLocal journalist Jake McCallum chaired a question and answer session with Western Sydney Local Health District health experts, addressing topics such as patient experience improvement projects, the future of the Parramatta Light Rail, sustainability projects being carried out and recruitment plans.

This year’s Year in Review document was unveiled at the forum – to download your copy visit wslhd.health.nsw.gov.au and tap on ‘Year in Review 2018/2019’.