Department of Health and Human Services Annual Report 2014-15

Department of Health and Human Services Annual Report 2014-15

Department of Health and Human Services

GPO Box 125

Hobart TAS 7001

Telephone: 1300 135 513

Website:

Published October 2015

ISBN 978-0-992417-4-4

Contents

Secretary’s Letter of Transmittal3

Part 1 – Overview

DHHS Overview9

Financial Overview13

Health and Human Services Workforce16

Community Engagement21

Disability Framework for Action23

DHHS in 2014-1524

DHHS in 2015-1634

Part 2 – Regulatory Information

Capital Works and Asset Management39

Consultancies, Contracts and Tenders47

Community Sector Organisations58

Climate Change74

Risk Management76

Pricing Policies77

Administered Payments77

Superannuation Declaration77

Public Interest Disclosure78

Right to Information79

Legislation81

Other Annual Reports85

Disability Services Act 201186

Council of Obstetric and Paediatric
Mortality and Morbidity93

Tasmanian Pharmacy Authority99

Part 3 – Financial Report

Department of Health and Human Services

Statement of Certification121

Statement of Comprehensive Income122

Statement of Financial Position123

Statement of Cash Flows124

Statement of Changes in Equity125

Notes to and Forming Part of Financial126
Statements

Ambulance Tasmania

Statement of Certification210

Statement of Comprehensive Income211

Statement of Financial Position212

Statement of Cash Flows213

Statement of Changes in Equity214

Notes to and Forming Part of Financial215
Statements

Secretary’s Letter of Transmittal

DHHS Annual Report 2014-15 – Part 1 – OverviewPage 1 of 247

Dear Ministers

During 2014-15, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has continued toput patients and clients at the forefront of everything we do. We remained focussed on successfully delivering our mission to improve the health and wellbeing of patients, clients and the Tasmanian community through a sustainable, high quality and safe health and human services system.

Departmental Reform

In the 2014-15 Budget, the Government announced a review of DHHS as one of its savings strategies. The Review set out to achieve efficiencies in a way that minimised the impact on services to the community.

After extensive consultation, led by key working groups within the Agency, the final DHHS Review Report was released to staff in April2015. It proposed a revised structure for the delivery of corporate and business support to service delivery areas.

The Report also highlighted the potential benefits of consolidation, and provided the opportunity to look at which parts of the Agency currently undertake system management functions for the service purchaser / provider arrangement between the Department and the Tasmanian Health Organisations (THOs) and consider how and where they would best be undertaken in the future.

It recommended the consolidation of all service purchasing functions, reduction in the number of separate business units in the corporate areas and centralisation of a number of the Department’s regulatory functions. In addition to the proposed structure, the Review also outlined 26 actions required to successfully implement the new structure.

The implementation of the new structure, and the actions recommended by the Review Report have commenced, and will progress over the course of the 201516 year.

I am very proud of the constructive contribution of a large number of staff engaged in this process.

Government’s 365 Day Plan

Looking to the Government’s broader reform agenda, in March 2015 the Government released Our Plan for the Next 365 Days. This document sets out the Government’s road map for the coming year and DHHS has some key initiatives to take forward as part of this program of work.

The Department has worked hard to successfully deliver on these reform priorities the Government has set for us across a number of areas.

Health Reform Priorities

The Government’s key goal in the Health portfolio is to make Tasmania the healthiest population in Australia by 2025, and the policy framework for this goal is guided by the commitment to AHealthy Tasmania.

The Department has been working to fulfil this vision on behalf of the Minister for Health through the One State, One Health System, Better Outcomes suite of reforms throughout the year. On 28 June 2015, the Minister released the White Paper on Delivering Safe and Sustainable Clinical Services, marking the end of an extensive sixmonth consultation program, which saw us engage in a statewide conversation with the community and stakeholders about how to get better outcomes from our health system. The White Paper is a policy framework that will guide the development of an implementation plan in the coming months.

The White Paper was also a vehicle for the Department to put further focus on accountability, leadership and culture as mechanisms that enable an effective and efficient system management role between DHHS and the THOs.

As part of fulfilling the system management role of strategic planner, and in supporting system safety, the White Paper included two planning documents that define the capacity and capabilities of our health system facilities to provide safe and sustainable clinical services of defined complexity: the Tasmanian Role Delineation Framework and the Tasmanian Clinical Service Profile.

In tandem with the White Paper process, work is being undertaken to address the role of preventive health in the system, and work in this space will be guided by a five-year preventive health strategy, currently being formulated in response to the work of the Healthy Tasmania Committee, a sub-committee of the Health Council of Tasmania.

A key pillar of the One Health System reforms saw the three regional THOs replaced with a single statewide Tasmanian Health Service (THS) on 1July 2015. Careful preparation stands us in good stead for a successful transition, and this major consolidation work is set to pave the way for improved patient outcomesincluding access to better care and reduced elective surgery waiting lists.

Another important commitment in the Health portfolio is the policy A long term plan for mental health. Under this banner are two key policy initiatives – the Rethink Mental Health Project and the Suicide Prevention Strategy.

Rethink Mental Health will deliver an integrated Tasmanian mental health system that provides support in the right place, at the right time and with clear signposts about where and how to get help. A discussion paper was released in October2014 to prompt community and stakeholder discussion on the topic. Subsequently the Review Report brought together all of this collated feedback, and was released on 30June2015. The end result of this ongoing work will be a long term plan for mental health in Tasmania that guides investment into the next decade.

The Government has further invested in the long term plan for mental healthcommitting $3 million over three years for the development of a new allages Suicide Prevention Strategy for Tasmania and a new Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy.2014-15 saw the extension of the current SuicidePrevention Strategy (which expired in December last year) until December 2015 toallow us sufficient time to consult stakeholders, and to develop these important strategies in the next financial year.

Human Services Reform

Across the Minister for Human Services’ portfolio,DHHS is driving the delivery of human services reform, in partnership with the community sector, to develop a joinedup and streamlined support system for vulnerable and disadvantaged Tasmanians.

Under the Election Commitment A Hand-up for Vulnerable Tasmanians, the Tasmanian Government articulated the need to work on a long-term plan, in partnership with the community sector, to deliver a more joinedup human services system. During the past financial year, a dedicated project team within DHHS was established to further this goal. The team has worked hard towards achieving a shared vision between Government and the community sector.

Significant work has been undertaken to develop a detailed Project Proposal, and in May it was announced that the Project team will further the implementation, and then evaluate, five priority initiatives under the Building a Joined Up Human Services Support System project. This initial work will help formulate the future roll-out of the Building a Joined Up Human Services Support System initiative.

2014-15 saw the conclusion of the Better Housing Futures (BHF) program, with management of the final group of 1197 properties transferred to Community Housing Limited. The properties (in the north of the State) were located in Mayfield, Mowbray, Ravenswood, Rocherlea and Waverley. The program has seen Tasmania become the only state to meet national housing reform targets to transfer 35 per cent of public housing stock to the community housing sector.

In the Housing Program, a total of 358 new affordable homes, and seven residential lots, were delivered at a total cost of $36.3 million.

Under the Neighbourhood House Capital Investment Program, $1.5 million was spent on the upgrade of the statewide network of Neighbourhood Houses in Rocherlea, Zeehan, Dunalley, Geeveston, Ulverstone and StHelens; with grants also provided to property owners at Deloraine, Fingal Valley, Goodwood and Exeter to enable works to be undertaken. Further works to upgrade another 18 Houses are planned in 201516.

Community Sector Grants provided a total of $245million under its Central Grants Program to 230organisations to assist them to deliver more than 440 services.

In Children and Youth Services (CYS), the Department has progressed a program of work to strive for best practice care for Tasmania’s vulnerable children. Reforms in youth justice, Out of Home Care (OOHC) and the manual of practice will all bring us closer to this goal.

The OOHC reforms in progressareabout filling in the gaps identified in past reviews and reports, and delivering stronger outcomes for Tasmanian children and young people in OOHC. The reform will ensure the system is evidenced-based, has the capacity to meet the needs of children and ultimately improves outcomes for children, young people and their families.

A key deliverable of Phase 1 of OOHC reform this year was the finalisation of a Request for Proposal (RFP), released on 15 November 2014, to commission specialised care services including Sibling Group Care, Residential Care types and Therapeutic Services. Three organisations have now been engaged to deliver these services sought through the Phase1 RFP. The successful providers were the Australian Childhood Foundation (Therapeutic Services), Key Assets (Sibling Group Care) and CatholicCare Tasmania (Residential Care). The new services will commence from 1July2015 and, for the first time, will mean that placement and therapeutic services will be purposely matched to the specific assessed needs of each child.
Phase 2 of OOHC reform examines Family Based Care options with an initial focus on foster care, including the recruitment, support, training, approval, registration and deregistration of carers.

Children and Youth Services also furthered its Practice Manual Project which aims to ensure quality, consistent practice statewide. This important Project is a critical part of providing our practitioners with the guidance, support, information and procedural clarity they need to work with children, young people, families, carers and partners. The Project Team achieved its goal of ‘going live’ with the Practice Manual on 1 July 2015.

During the year, the Department continued work on the legislative project to clarify the powers and functions of the Commissioner for Children. These changes have arisen from recommendations made by the Advocacy for Children in Tasmania Committee, one of which wasthe development of standalone legislation to distancethe position from the statutory services provided through the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997.

Stability in Times of Change

Though we are in an environment of major changeacross every aspect of the Department’s functions, and as we strive for innovation and better outcomes across both of the Department’s portfolios, our fundamental role remains constant. Our primary focus is to improve the health and wellbeing of Tasmanians.

Without doubt my key message for the DHHS 2014-15 Annual Report is one of thanks. Thanks to the staff of the Department who have bought about this exceptional suite of reforms while continuing to deliver the day to day outcomes required of them to a high standard. Particularly given the program of FTE reductions we completed in 2014-15, this is an exceptional effort, and my thanks and recognition goesout to each and every staff member.

We arrived at these achievements by working together, and seeing what we achieved in 2014-15 consolidated into this Annual Report makes it quite clear just how far we’ve come in delivering real and positive change for Tasmanians – particularly those most vulnerable.

Ministers, I am very pleased to submit to you the Annual Report of the Department of Health and Human Services for the financial year 2014-15.

DHHS Annual Report 2014-15 – Part 1 – OverviewPage 1 of 247

Michael Pervan

Acting Secretary

Contents – Part 1 - Overview

DHHS Overview

Financial Overview

Health and Human Services Workforce

Community Engagement

Disability Framework for Action

DHHS in 2014-15

DHHS in 2015-16

DHHS Annual Report 2014-15 – Part 1 – OverviewPage 1 of 247

DHHS Overview

DHHS Annual Report 2014-15 – Part 1 – OverviewPage 1 of 247

DHHS Overview

The objective of public sector health and human services is to deliver safe, high quality services to improve, promote, protect and maintain the health and wellbeing of Tasmanians.

Specifically, it is the Department’s management responsibility to provide strategic leadership and direction for the delivery of public sector health and human services in the State. It is also to have in place a framework of processes, procedures and controls to satisfy the needs of the Minister for Health and the Minister for Human Services to ensure the objectives of the system are being met.

The Department is system manager and purchaser of safe, high quality and efficient healthcare services through the public hospital system, primary and community health services, including mental health, oral health and correctional health services, and ambulance services.

The Department delivers health promotion and protection through emergency management, public health and related preventative services. It also has a regulatory role for the public and private health sector.

We facilitate residential and rehabilitative care for older Tasmanians, as well as support and assistance to enable them to remain living independently in their own homes. We also run a network of alcohol and drug prevention and treatment services.

The Department provides a range of accommodation and support services which aim to enhance the quality of life for people with disability and this work has been built on this year under the Disability Framework for Action 201317.

We hold vital statutory responsibilities relating to vulnerable children and young people in child protection and juvenile justice, and provide a wide range of community services for children and their families, including early intervention, family support services and child health services.

And through a collaboration between Government and the community sector, Housing Connect provides a one-stop shop for Tasmanians in need of housing assistance ranging from emergency accommodation through to finding and sustaining a long-term home.

The Department will continue to implement reform in the coming year while maintaining and striving to improve our service delivery and oversight roles for all Tasmanians.

DHHS at a Glance

As system manager the Department’s role includes:

describing and enacting the strategic direction of the health system
government relations
the planning and purchasing of services
the planning and purchasing of capital resources
performance management of service providers
regulation of service providers
monitoring and oversight of the system
system reporting

health promotion and protection through emergency management, and public health services

continuous improvement in the quality of care statewide clinical governance
industrial relations and

integrated pre-hospital emergency and medical services, health transport, aeromedical and medical retrieval services.

Other principal responsibilities:

statutory responsibilities for vulnerable children and young people including child protection and Youth Justice

either directly, or through funding partnerships, we deliver a wide range of community services for children and their families including early intervention, counselling and support for families affected by family violence, other family support services and child health and parenting services
secure and affordable housing to support low income Tasmanians, and accommodation and support for people experiencing homelessness, and
a range of accommodation and support services aimed at enhancing the quality of life for people with disability.

The operational Groups of the Department provided a range of services across Tasmania in 2014-15, including:

55 ambulance response locations
four Children and Youth Service Centres located at Newtown, Launceston, Burnie and Devonport
three Family Violence Counselling and Support services located in Burnie, Launceston and Hobart, with capacity to provide outreach service within each respective region
78 Child Health and Parenting Service (CHaPS) clinics around the State
three Parenting Centres
the Ashley Youth Detention Centre
22 Housing Tasmania homes for children in OOHC
four area-based Disability Assessment and Advisory Teams providing specialist support to outsourced disability services
four area-based Community Partnership Teams who provide relationship management with Community Sector providers
five service points, providing tenancy services, advice and support to over 11039 public, Aboriginal and community managed properties, and
approximately 520 community defibrillators registered with Ambulance Tasmania under the Early Access to Defibrillation program.

The Department also provided a range of PublicHealth Services across Tasmania in 2014-15, including: