Welcome to Caring Together: The Health Action Plan for NSW website. Caring Together provides the NSW Government's response to the recommendations made by Mr Peter Garling SC following his Inquiry into acute care services in NSW public hospitals.

The Caring Together: The Health Action Plan for NSW is the foundation of our plans to improve our health care system.

Throughout 2008, Commissioner Garling undertook the most significant inquiry ever of the NSW acute care system. The Report identified the great strengths of our health system. It also identified the need to re-focus on the patient as the centre of the health care system.

The Report includes 139 recommendations and the Government has accepted 134 of these. The Government has provided an additional $485 million over 4 years to enable immediate response. Good progress is being made across the recommendations.

I am committed to continuing to listen to the views of health workers and community representatives as they work locally on the implementation of Caring Together. Consultation is a high priority and will continue to occur across the State as the Government implements the recommendations. This website will provide information on consultation processes and allow you to get involved and have your say.

Thank you for visiting the site and for your interest in the work of the NSW Government.

Your involvement will be important to improving our health system.

I invite you to take the time to review Caring Together, the Government's response to the Garling Report recommendations, and to make comment through local consultation processes, or here on the web.

Carmel Tebbutt MP
Deputy Premier
Minister for Health