The dedication, compassion and ingenuity of healthcare staff and volunteers across the state has been celebrated at the 25th annual NSW Health Awards.
The Custodial Mental Health team from Justice Health NSW were awarded the Patient Safety First Award for their Towards Zero Suicides in Custody program.
Towards Zero Suicides in Custody supports the state-wide suicide prevention health initiative, with the program tailored to be effective and accessible for people in adult correctional settings.
The adult prison population face high rates of self-harm and attempted suicide. One in four deaths in custody are unnatural (suicide or self-inflicted causes). In addition, patients generally have little contact with health services in the community.
Towards Zero Suicides in Custody was created to address this need. The program includes layered interventions to create a suicide prevention safety net.
Health Minister Ryan Park congratulated the winners at last night’s ceremony, held at the Sydney International Convention Centre.
“I want to congratulate the winners and sincerely thank them for their contribution to our health system. I also want to recognise all our finalists across the 12 award categories – their creativity and passion truly shows the breadth of skill and innovation from our teams across the state,” Mr Park said.
The NSW Health Awards recognise personalised, sustainable, and digitally enabled programs that contribute to the wellbeing of patients and the community.
The categories for the 25th annual NSW Health Awards include:
The full list of finalists and their projects is available on the NSW Health website.
