Bridging the innovation ecosystem through connection and knowledge sharing (2024)

Our collective strength as clinicians, leaders, researchers, policy makers and health staff is leveraged when we can exchange ideas and experiences, build on those of others, and ultimately create something new that is greater than the sum of its parts.

At the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI), we connect clinicians, consumers and health leaders to design, promote and implement change in clinical practice that delivers value to consumers, health services and the system.

We work to foster system-level change and transformation through:

• the work of our clinical networks and statewide programs
• building capability among health staff to implement healthcare redesign, and to lead and adopt change
• showcasing local innovation in care delivery models to a broad audience through platforms such as the Innovation Exchange, as well as events, workshops, partnerships and collaborative initiatives.

Marking a decade of the Innovation Exchange

This year, the Innovation Exchange celebrates 10 years as a digital platform that champions innovation and improvement projects across NSW Health.

Since its relaunch in 2023, more than 60 new projects have been uploaded from over 100 contributors, representing the local health districts and health services they work in.

As many districts face similar issues, the Innovation Exchange is not only a way to showcase projects, but to share solutions. This helps to reduce duplication of work, and foster connections with colleagues across NSW Health who can learn from, adapt or build on the success of others.

To celebrate this milestone, we’ve chosen 10 Innovation Exchange projects that showcase the breadth of work taking place across health settings. Topics ranging from the arts in health and consumer engagement to mental health and patient safety.

Many of those featured come from graduates of ourCentre for Healthcare Redesign course, such as the Greater Newcastle Hospital project, which aims to increase the use of Hospital in the Home.

Some of the more novel projects have included a Sepsis escape room, a digital interactive playground for paediatric patients and the introduction of Magseed, a new technology making breast cancer surgery easier and more precise.

You’ll also find projects that focus on environmental sustainability – a Future Health priority area. Some of these projects have surfaced as part of the NSW Health Sustainable Future Innovation Fund and Net Zero Leads.

Themed collections

Importantly, we know health staff look to the Innovation Exchange for inspiration and ideas to help tackle challenges, which are often shared across districts and health services.

Themed collections are a new initiative to helps users find relevant projects on the Innovation Exchange. Our first collection highlights projects that provide care at home and in the community, reflecting a key focus of the Future Health Strategy to deliver more services in the home, community and virtual settings.

I invite you to review the collection, share relevant projects with people in your district, and support your teams to submitinitiatives of their own to the Innovation Exchange that focus on providing care closer to home.

Working together across the system

Also in this edition of Clinician Connect, we deep-dive into two projects making a significant impact across NSW Health.

In our guest editorial, Kathryn Spears shares her insights on implementing the Emergency Care Assessment and Treatment (ECAT) program as the ECAT Lead for South Western Sydney Local Health District. Led by the ACI’s ECAT project team, this program is the result of incredible collaboration across the system that will evolve how emergency care is initiated. It is encouraging to see it already improving patient outcomes and staff experience in emergency departments.

The ACI Safeguards Capability program is another success story, supporting local teams to implement and sustain the child and adolescent mental health Safeguards project through bespoke training, including workshops and one-on-one coaching.