Development Process for a Health Services Plan
Intent: This assessment item focuses on the skills required to develop a health services plan.
You are not expected to write the health services plan, but merely describe how you would approach developing it.
Length: 2500 words (report style)
Task:
Local Health Districts (LHDs) were established in 2011 in NSW, and are responsible for managing public hospitals and health institutions and for providing health services to defined geographical areas of New South Wales. Their aim is to provide high quality, appropriate and safe health services for the community. Once established each LHD developed a range of health service plans.
Southern Urban LHD health service plans are reaching their end date and new health service plans must now be developed.
Southern Urban LHD services a population of 850,000 and includes a tertiary referral hospital, two district hospitals, a rehabilitation hospital and a wide range of community health services. The LHD serves some semi-rural towns, but primarily delivers services to urban areas of Sydney.
1. Select a clinical specialty (specific service type) from the following list:
Trauma-?maternity?- cancer-?renal?- aged care?- mental health?- drug and alcohol – pediatrics – ?general medicine – general surgery – cardiology – perioperative services – oral health – a service from your own experience.
The selected health service type should not be too specific (e.g. choose mental health rather than eating disorders services, choose renal medicine services rather than kidney transplant services).
2. Develop a guide for the LHD Executive which outlines the development process for a full clinical service plan appropriate to your chosen specialty in the LHD for the next ten year. The plan should address some of the significant challenges in your selected service, which may relate to the service model, technology, cost or workforce.
The guide should include descriptions of:
– The scope of the plan (scope is the part of planning that involves determining and documenting the boundaries of the plan, specific goals, expected deliverables, and so on)
– Governance and management (the governance group sets the strategic direction of the plan and provides broad oversight to its development, while management refers to those responsible for the operational development of the plan)
– What data will be required and how it will be presented
– Who should be consulted, and the form this consultation should take
– ?An approximate timeline, divided into major stages
– What your communication strategy should include for the duration of the planning process (keeping people informed)
– Identification of key risks or problems that might occur during the planning process, and a summary of how these might be managed
– What your evaluation framework might include.