Message from the Board Chair It was another exceptional year for Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) marked by many achievements and milestones.
The district’s commitment to creating a safe and supportive work environment remained a focus. This year saw the rollout of the psychosocial risk management training which is part of a broader set of initiatives to ensure the wellbeing of staff and foster a safe work environment. The training initiative aims to educate staff on identifying psychosocial risks and implementing strategies to mitigate them. It focuses on fostering a culture of psychological safety, improving staff resilience, and promoting mental health awareness. In addition, this year saw the launch of the Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment Safety Plan which also underscores the district’s commitment to maintaining a safe, inclusive workplace by providing tools to address harassment, discrimination, bullying, and intimidation. Celebrating the achievements of our staff is something we hold dear, and 2024 was no exception. Professor Michael K. Nicholas and Professor Sue Kurrle AO were added to the NSLHD Board Honour Roll, which recognises exceptional service given to the district over an extended period. Several staff also received Australian Honours. RNSH’s Professor Georgina Long AO was named Australian of the Year, alongside Professor Richard Scolyer AO, for their groundbreaking work in melanoma research. Professor Paul Roach, Clinical Director of Nuclear Medicine, was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his contributions to nuclear medicine and medical research. Additionally, staff members Diane Elfleet, Rachael Marlow, and Emma Tan received a Public Service Medal (PSM) in the Australia Day Honours, while Dr Penny Browne (OAM) and Associate Professor Elisabeth Murphy (PSM) were recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours for their dedicated community care work. The district’s commitment to innovation and excellence was also reflected with three of our teams nominated as finalists in the 2024 NSW Health Awards. Our staff’s dedication and achievements were also recognised at the district’s Exceptional People Awards and the Quality and Improvement Awards. Furthermore, Associate Professor Naomi Hammond was named a finalist in the NSW Premier’s Awards in the Public Servant of the Year category. I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to every member of our staff and our volunteers for their continued hard work and dedication. Your efforts play a pivotal role in delivering exceptional care to our patients, their families, and the broader community. Also, heartfelt thanks to our generous donors, whose support enables us to enhance the healthcare services we provide. As we look ahead to 2025, we anticipate another remarkable year filled with exciting projects and initiatives, building upon the successes of this outstanding year. Trevor Danos AM Board Chair, Northern Sydney Local Health District
We continued to focus confidently and proudly on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, as well as planetary health, and celebrating staff excellence. Our planetary health efforts ramped up in 2024. We launched the new 2024-2027 Planetary Health framework, following the success of the inaugural Planetary Health Framework 2021-2023. This new framework outlines the next stage of our journey to net zero and details the plans in place to help us get there. Another important sustainability milestone we achieved was to quantify and identify the current level and sources of carbon emissions of the district. This important process tells us our current position as a district and what the pathway needs to be to get to net zero. The district also held its first Planetary Health Showcase this year, where sustainability champions and net zero leads were able to highlight their different projects. It was incredibly inspiring to see how much effort is going into making our district a leader in sustainability. The Board is committed to ensuring the district has a diverse, equitable, inclusive workforce and there is so much happening to continue our fantastic momentum. Our focus on gender equity continued with targets set for the number of senior female medical leaders to be represented in our district, one of the first districts in NSW to do this. We also held two Advancing Women in Medical Leadership workshops, which were attended by hundreds of staff members. These workshops featured prominent business and health leaders and provided valuable insights, further solidifying our commitment to creating a diverse, equitable workforce. We were also proud to establish the Youth Advisory Board this year to provide a forum for young staff members between 18 and 35-years-old to have a connection to and to provide input to the district’s senior leadership team and the Board. There are now 12 members on the Youth Advisory Board from various clinical and non-clinical roles and I look forward to following the progress they will continue to make in 2025 to ensure that the district is a place where our staff feel involved and represented. The district also achieved a Bronze Award at the 2024 Australian Pride in Health and Wellbeing Awards, marking another significant milestone in LGBTIQ+ inclusivity. This recognition was evaluated through the Health + Wellbeing Equality Index and underscores the district’s commitment to fostering inclusivity for individuals with diverse sexualities and genders. Special thanks to the Pride+ Employee Network for their hard work in fostering inclusivity for our LGBTIQ+ staff, patients, and community. The district also launched a six-month mentoring program to support career development for our culturally and linguistically diverse staff. Twenty mentees were paired with mentors, and two participants have already advanced to higher roles, highlighting the program’s success in fostering leadership and growth.
NSLHD 2024 Year in Review
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