WSLHD Youth Health Annual Report

Youth Transition Project

Youth transition care is the process of planning, preparing and moving young people with chronic health conditions or disabilities from child to adult oriented healthcare services. Transition is multidimensional and requires a person-centred, coordinated approach that meets an individual’s developmental and psychosocial needs. Supported youth transition care improves health outcomes for young people. It prevents disengagement from health services and reduces avoidable hospital presentations and admissions. The WSLHD Youth Transition Care Project officer position secured permanent full-time funding within Youth Health, Integrated and Community Health in 2021. This position supports the development of strategy, processes and mechanisms that holistically support young people in transition care throughout the LHD. The role works closely with The Children’s Hospital at Westmead (CHW), Trapeze (The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network [SCHN]) and the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) to foster partnerships that support the transition of young people with chronic conditions in western Sydney. There are several committees, departments, advisory groups and working groups across WSLHD, SCHN and ACI that bring together key stakeholders in youth transition care for western Sydney. Some of these include: CHW and WSLHD Strategic Transition Care Committee CHW Transition to Adult Care Committee Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine (WSLHD) Adolescent Medicine (CHW) WSLHD Youth Council SCHN Youth Advisory Council

In 2021, COVID-19 brought about many challenges for young people transitioning. Physical distancing requirements and visitor restrictions impacted the ability for transition support services to accompany young people to their first appointments with adult services. Many services pivoted from face to face to telehealth appointments, impacting the ability to develop rapport and build trust between young people and their with new adult clinicians. As services were forced to reprioritise clinical services with several staff redeployed to COVID, there have been subsequent delays in transition or changes to transition pathways across the state. As some services temporarily paused clinics, closed books to new referrals, operated at reduced capacity or redefined referral criteria, there has been an increase in wait times for many clinics across western Sydney, impacting the timeliness of transition care for several young people. WSLHD, CHW, Trapeze and ACI are committed to identifying the barriers to transition and working with clinical teams across all services to improve this experience for young people and their parents and carers.