Southern NSW LHD
The Leading Better Value Care (LBVC) Chronic Wounds Task Force initiative has been named a finalist in the 2025 NSW Premier’s Awards for Providing World Class Care.
The NSW Premier’s Awards celebrate excellence in delivering public services to the people of NSW, recognising outstanding work by government agencies, departments, not-for-profit organisations and private partners.
Established under the LBVC program, the statewide Chronic Wounds Task Force brought together clinicians and system leaders to strengthen wound management practices and drive quality improvement across all Local Health Districts.
Kate Lloyd from the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) said:
“I am thrilled to announce we’ve been recognised as a Premier's Award finalist for our work on the Chronic Wound Management Initiative. You can read more about other finalists on the Premier’s Awards website.”
A Task Force celebration was broadcast on 25 June 2025, with local “watch parties” hosted at South East Regional Hospital (SERH) and Goulburn.
Task Force Co-Chair and Dietitian at SERH, Dr Helen Nikolas, said it was a proud moment to reflect on what had been achieved.
“It was an opportunity for Task Force members, local clinicians and Executive to come together to celebrate many amazing achievements. There has been positive feedback from the District about the closing ceremony, including from our executives.”
Saly Mahalingam from the Ministry of Health said the initiative has had a measurable impact across NSW Health.
“We’ve seen positive outcomes in inpatient separations, bed days and inpatient costs for wound management. Length of stay and readmission rates remained stable, indicating the focus for future work.”
ACI’s Regina Osten added:
“Our partnerships included clinicians, consumers and the ACI. Different ways of working included new wound teams and models of care.”
During the final celebration, both metropolitan and rural award winners were showcased — including the Southern NSW Local Health District (SNSWLHD) Community Nursing team.
The final Task Force meeting was held on 26 June 2025, marking the end of five years of collaboration across NSW Health.
Dr Nikolas acknowledged the contribution of Southern’s Task Force members:
“I applaud my colleagues and SNSWLHD members - Community Nursing CNCs Emily Laszuk and Leah Pennay, OT Head of Department Michelle Grigg (Tablelands), and OT Deputy Head of Department Larissa Asimus (Coastal) - for their hard work and leadership, which achieved excellent outcomes for Southern.”
Director of Nursing and Midwifery at SERH, Sarah Little, said:
“This is a wonderful achievement and recognition, and everyone involved should be so very proud.”
General Manager of the Southern NSWLHD Coastal Network, Brad Scotcher, added:
“What a fabulous achievement for the dedicated team from SNSWLHD, and great recognition of the outstanding results achieved in the management of chronic wounds for patients in our community. Congratulations to the Southern Task Force members Emily, Leah, Michelle, Larisa and Co-chair Helen for your strong commitment to care.”