Year in Review 2021

OUR SPECIALITY SERVICES WSLHD YEAR IN REVIEW 4

Above, from left WSLHD Community Health Nurse Fay Jelley and SydPath Nurse Azhar Edan at the Berala COVID-19 Clinic. Westmead COVID-19 Testing Clinic team photo. ‘Going to a COVID-19 Testing Clinic’ children’s booklet. Go4Fun program.

“The [Children’s COVID-19 testing] booklet was emailed to 12,000 families and 3,700 hard copies were distributed.”

COVID-19 community outreach and support

Health Promotion ensures that accurate, timely and culturally appropriate health and wellbeing information is provided to the WSLHD community. The Western Sydney COVID-19 Community Resources website has had over 27,195 views and 3,426 resource downloads. Sixty-five issues of the COVID-19 Public Health and Wellbeing Information Bulletins were sent to 100 Council, education, Government, and Non-Government subscribers and to over 1,600 subscribers from children’s settings, schools and families. A Children’s COVID-19 testing booklet was co-designed with local families to help reduce fear and anxiety in children about having a COVID-19 test. The booklet was emailed to 12,000 families and 3,700 hard copies were distributed.

Go4Fun online family healthy lifestyle program; six early childhood and school educator workshops, and Healthy Lunchbox presentations with 73 schools, reaching 3,500 families. The first-ever virtual Library Health Month ran via all 26 public libraries and received a Highly Commended Western Sydney Community Zest Award. Health Promotion worked with clinicians to improve awareness, capacity and access to programs including Midwives in-service training and the launch of eMaternity referrals, contributing to a 15% increase in referrals to the Get Healthy in Pregnancy program. A new ‘Measure Me in May’ initiative was implemented to increase the number of children’s Routine Growth Assessments conducted, contributing to the 10% rise in assessments across the district during the 2020/21 year. Training sessions were

“Midwives in-service training and the launch of

delivered to Women’s Health staff, and smokerlyzers implemented in antenatal services to reduce the incidence of smoking in pregnancy as part of the Safer Baby Initiative. eMaternity referrals, contributing to a 15% increase in referrals to the Get Healthy in Pregnancy program.”

Pivoting health and wellbeing programs

ICH adapted a range of virtual health and wellbeing programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the falls prevention Stepping On program; Healthy and Active Online;

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