Sustaining NSW families

Hunter New England Local Health District was delighted to have Sonia Hornery MP, Member for Wallsend, visit their Sustaining NSW Families team recently to celebrate a significant milestone – over 5,000 families across NSW have benefitted from the program.

Designed to partner child and family health nurses with parents and carers, the Sustaining NSW Families program provides regular assessments, tailored programs, and referrals to other support services children may need during the early years of childhood.

The Hunter New England Local Health District team consists of nurse coordinators, child and family health nurses, social workers and allied health staff, including occupational therapists, speech pathologists, physiotherapists, psychologists, and dietitians.

The Allied Health team provides specialist advice to the nurses to work with parents in addressing any issues that may be impacting on parenting or child development. They contribute to case review and management, and also facilitate referrals to other services for families requiring them.

The program is offered to families who meet eligibility criteria which include mothers experiencing mild anxiety or mild depression and circumstances which are known to have an impact on the family.

Evidence from local and international health home visiting programs has shown that families benefit through improved home environment, secure parent-child relationships, child development, increased immunisation and breastfeeding maintenance rates, and decreased rates of child abuse and neglect.

Since its inception in 2010, the program has expanded to 14 local health districts across the state.

NSW Member for Wallsend, Sonia Hornery, said the program helps empower families to care for their children, providing them with the right information at the right time.

“Regardless of whether they are welcoming their first child or their fifth – the child and family health nurses and the multidisciplinary support provided by the program can be crucial to families as they start a new chapter.”

Find more in our Spring Edition of Hunter & Coastal Lifestyle Magazine or subscribe here.

Story Maxine Throll