NSW Health network upgrades get go-ahead

The NSW Department of Health is getting the ball rolling on an IT network upgrade that will eventually reach more than 1100 sites.

The Health Grade Enterprise Network project has been in the pipeline since 2018, when NSW Health announced a pilot would be run at Westmead Hospital.

eHealth NSW announced the project's go-ahead in a newsletter last month.

It said HGEN will involve refreshing network hardware and services “to improve network coverage, reliability, and performance”.

“The upgrades will include new switches, wireless access points, cabling, network licensing and communication room upgrades”, the newsletter stated.

HGEN will also “support the delivery of the single digital patient record”, eHealth NSW said.

A NSW Health spokesperson said the statewide initiative covers both the purchase and management of local ICT network infrastructure, to “provide a consistent approach to network services across NSW Health.”

Early work on HGEN has begun in several local health districts.

In the October minutes of its CEO’s board report [pdf], the Sydney Local Health District (LHD) noted HGEN as an early-stage project in its capital infrastructure and engineering services, saying: “proposed campus wide ICT upgrades per HGEN model and their procurements via eHealth continue to be reviewed and investigated by the SLHD and redevelopment team”.

In a digital strategy to 2028 document [pdf] dated November 2023, the South Western Sydney LHD identified HGEN as part of its digital health plans.

The SWSLHD document said it plans to “leverage improvements to HGEN to manage ‘in-facility’ digital health networking needs across the district”.

The Northern Sydney LHD’s acting CEO’s board report for March 2023 [pdf] also mentions HGEN, noting that “all health entities will be required to adhere to statewide standards for network infrastructure, design and purchase of network infrastructure, along with associated managed services from a State-wide panel of providers.”

As well as at Westmead, the NSW Health spokesperson told iTnews trials had been conducted at the Coffs Harbour Health Campus, and at 1 Reserve Road in St Leonards in Sydney's northern suburbs.

“Extensive consultation was conducted following the pilots, resulting in a revised approach and robust procurement process to identify appropriate industry partners who will deliver HGEN technology and services across the NSW public health system,” the spokesperson said.