Clinical Networks are:

‘Interested groups and individuals working across organisations and professions to solve complex problems we couldn’t solve on our own, with a focus on clinical variation.’

The Clinical Networks focus is on clinician consumer and key stakeholder engagement in facilitating service improvement, specifically in high volume, high risk clinical areas.  They will promote system integration across structural boundaries and encourage collaborative approaches to service development and improvement.

Each Clinical Network is supported by a Leadership Group to assist in the leadership and coordination of the Clinical Network.  Membership is drawn from key stakeholders and clinical experts from within Victoria, including consumer representation.

The first five state-wide Clinical Networks have now been established in line with the Health Reform targets for 2007-08.  These networks will contribute to the ongoing reform of the health system to ensure that all Victorians continue to have access to high standards of health care.  The five networks are:

• Cancer
• Emergency
• Maternity and Newborn
• Renal
• Stroke

Two more Clinical Networks in the areas of Paediatrics and Cardiac services are currently being established.

Roles and functions of Clinical Networks

Clinical Networks have a key role in both providing evidence informed clinical information to the Department of Human Services as well as providing information to clinicians about clinical practice issues.  Clinical Networks will work with the Department of Human Services in order to gather appropriate data and information to inform both policy and clinical practice.  Key areas for clinical network attention include key performance indicators, translation of research into practice and informing new technology and the high cost equipment agendas.

How can you get involved?

Support for the implementation of strategies proposed by the networks will be critical for success.  We really need to talk to each other and need to start thinking about the mechanism for collaborative ways of working as the networks become more established and recommend changes in policy.  It will be important for the networks to have some early success, but it will also be important to keep a view on long term outcomes. 

There are several ways of getting involved with a Clinical Network.  This could be through:

• Contributing your knowledge or experience to a project group on a specific issue.
• Bringing a particular issue to the attention of the network.
• Receiving regular newsletters, including information on upcoming events.

So keep an eye out for future newsletters, join in activities if they are of interest to you, and look for areas of joint interest and where we could collaborate.     

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