Children’s health services plan
We want to make sure children and young people in Canberra get safe and age appropriate health care.
ACT Health has developed a Child and Adolescent Clinical Services Plan to ensure families, children and young people get better health care.
About the plan
The plan sets a roadmap for the design, investment and development of children's health services. It is an area of focus of the ACT Health Services Plan 2022-2030.
We want a public health system that provides services for children that:
The plan identifies how children services can be provided that:
- Have the child and family as part of the care team, with all services being child and family centred and integrated and where care is child safe, child friendly and child aware.
- Are evidence-based and informed by a learning health system where research drives optimal health and wellbeing for children.
- Creates the best possible health outcomes, through value driven, high quality care that is easy to access.
- Are inclusive and culturally appropriate and safe for all children, especially those with complex health and social needs.
- Are sustainable and based on need and efficient use of resources.
The plan complements other work already underway to improve the health of, and services for, Canberra’s children, including:
- expansion of the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children
- the Maternity in Focus - The Public Maternity System Plan for 2022-2032
- Year 7 Health Check
- the development of the First 1000 Days Strategy.
Expert panel
In September 2022, the Minister for Health established the Child and Adolescent Clinical Services Expert Panel to help prioritise strategies to achieve better health outcomes for children in Canberra and the surrounding region, particularly the most vulnerable in the community.
The expert panel has worked with stakeholders across the ACT’s health and community services to deliver the Child and Adolescent Clinical Services Plan four key objectives:
- Improve care, access and processes for children using ACT public hospitals including seriously unwell children.
- Improve care and services for children and families of children with chronic and complex conditions, where care is shared with Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network.
- Improve care and processes for children and their families requiring local outpatient and community-based services.
- Enable the health system to better respond to the needs of children and their families.
The outcomes and priorities in this plan complement other work already underway to improve the health of, and services for children in Canberra and the surrounding region. This includes the expansion of the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children, Maternity in Focus: First Action Plan 2022-2025, ACT Health Services Plan 2022-2030, Mental Health Services Plan (in development), and Healthy Canberra: the ACT Preventive Health Plan 2020-2025.