Our nursing and midwifery workforce are frontrunners in care, education and research and we recognise the valuable contribution they make to our community.

Rural and remote placements

The nurses and midwives in Sydney Local Health District continue to support rural and remote Local Health Districts in disaster response, workforce capacity, recruitment, and opportunities to gain new skills and experience.   

Sydney Local Health District is proud of its partnership with Far West Local Health District, and has supported Broken Hill Emergency Department with suitably skilled and trained nursing staff and through our many virtual health programs. 

We have partnered with Murrumbidgee Local Health District through the Virtual Nurse Assist Program, and recently with Griffith Base Hospital in their Women’s and Babies Unit. 

In 2025, we look forward to supporting midwives from Far West Local Health District who will join us at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital as they gain midwifery and Neonatal Intensive Care experience in a tertiary hospital setting.

In 2022, our nurses and midwives were deployed to assist in the devastating floods in Northern NSW, and in 2019/2020, the fires in Southern NSW.

NSW Heath Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards 2024

The NSW Health Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Awards acknowledge the passion, dedication and contributions of nurses and midwives, who positively impact the health outcomes of patients, women and families across NSW.

Congratulations to Courtney Joseph, Registered Midwife, Canterbury Hospital, and Aaron Jones, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Information Officer, Sydney Local Health District, who were both nominated as finalists for a NSW Health Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery Award for 2024.

Courtney was nominated for the Healing Heart Colleague award. This is a colleague-nominated award that acknowledges an outstanding nurse/midwife who is an inspiration and role model to others for their compassion, commitment to workplace culture, improving the patient/woman's experience and providing safe, quality care.

Aaron was nominated for the Judith Meppem Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognises the contribution of an outstanding nurse or midwife who, throughout their career, has had a positive and sustained influence on patients, the health system, and their profession.

The RPA Virtual Wound Care Command Centre

The RPA Virtual Wound Care Command Centre was honoured with three prestigious awards in 2024: 

1. NSW Health Awards for Transforming Patient Experience. 

2. Premier’s Award for Highest Quality Healthcare.

3. Sydney Local Health District Excellence and Innovation Award for Transforming Patient Experience.

The NSW Health Awards Transforming Patient Experience Award acknowledges projects and programs that reflect meaningful and active collaboration between the patient, their families and carers and the health care team to improve health outcomes.

The Premiers Awards Highest Quality Healthcare category, recognises services that ensure people across the state have access to world-class healthcare when and where they need it. 

The Wound Care Command Centre, located within Australia’s first virtual hospital, leverages cutting-edge technology, including an artificial intelligence wound app, to offer immediate specialist services. This innovation has improved continuity of care, reduced waiting times, and eliminated travel costs. Notably, the app has decreased average healing time and reduced wound size by an impressive 48%.

Opening in 2023, the Centre operates as a flexible nurse-led model working alongside other clinicians and allied health professionals both virtually and in clinics. Together, they provide timely, high-quality care to patients with chronic wounds, partnering with them in their treatment journey irrespective of their location.

Dr Michelle Barakat-Johnson, founder of the RPA Virtual Hospital Wound Care Command Centre and District Clinical Skin Integrity Lead, expressed her pride in the team’s achievements.

“This award showcases what we can accomplish in just a year since officially opening, exceeding our targets, and transforming the lives of patients across the state. And this is only the beginning.”