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RDN congratulates ‘Stronger Together: Improving Access to ADHD Care across NSW’ for being recognised as one of three 2026 NSW Health Awards finalists in the category of Health Equity. The Health Equity Award acknowledges a significant contribution to health equity, and recognises programs and projects that overcome barriers to achieve better health in a defined group or population. It celebrates positive health impacts and recognises targeted interventions and initiatives that demonstrate best practice, excellence, and innovation in addressing a need unique to the defined population.
NSW Ministry of Health Medical Advisor Dr Sarah Khanlari said the ‘Stronger Together’ project looked at how attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) could be managed more effectively in the community.
“…We’ve undertaken to train over 300 GPs to diagnose ADHD within their family practice,” Dr Khanlari said.
“What we’ve also done is allowed GPs to continue prescriptions for patients who have already been diagnosed,” she said.
People seeking care for ADHD often face long wait times for specialist services. This program has not only taken a strain off the public health system and specialists, but has supported patients to now access care faster, closer to home and with their family GP.
NSW Ministry of Health Principal Policy Officer Christa Lynch said the project has enabled more than 20,000 people with ADHD to receive care from a general practitioner, with close to 50 per cent of those practitioners located outside of metropolitan Sydney.
- In Hunter New England Local Health District, 412 children have moved to GP co-management which has created capacity for more than 800 additional paediatrician appointments.
- In Western NSW Local Health District, 357 children have transitioned to GP co-management, freeing 720 paediatric outpatient appointments each year.
RDN support for ADHD reform rollout
The recognition of the Stronger Together team comes in the context of the roll out of reforms in NSW to strengthen the role of GPs in managing people with ADHD.
RDN has been supporting the roll out across its enterprises, providing complementary education and and helping support the uptake in continuation subscribers. RDN’s Australian Centre for Health Access (ACHA) designed and implemented a data-driven framework to prioritise and allocate general practitioner endorsed prescriber training places. This work ensured that GPs in areas of higher need were given an opportunity and that there was geographical disbursement to enable access, as well as appropriate prioritisation for Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs).
Under the banner of RDN Health and Rural Doctors Network, RDN also provided ADHD masterclasses for GPs in metropolitan and regional areas of NSW, complementing the formal training being provided through the reforms. In parallel, RDN Health built a tailored fund gateway to enable support payments to GPs completing the training, while Rural Health Pro provided regular updates on the reforms to health professionals across Australia.
“We're delighted to see this recognition of the NSW ADHD reform initiative, highlighting the collective effort to improve access to ADHD care across the state,” says RDN Business Development Manager - Knowledge Mobilisation, Carly Stats.
“RDN is proud to have supported the implementation of these reforms through GP education, workforce planning, prioritisation activities and stakeholder engagement, helping more people access timely ADHD care closer to home,” she said.
“This work aligns with RDN's commitment to improving health access for under-resourced communities and supporting health professionals to work to their full scope of practice,” Carly said. “The reforms are helping reduce barriers to care, improve patient choice and strengthen access to ADHD assessment and management across NSW.
“Congratulations to all finalists and we wish the ‘Stronger Together: Improving Access to ADHD Care across NSW’ team all the very best at the Awards ceremony later this month,” Carly said.
Winners in each category will be announced at the 2026 NSW Health Awards Ceremony on Thursday 29 October 2026.
Learn more about the Awards and the finalists in each category here.
Did you know?
The NSW Health Awards recognise and celebrate staff and volunteers from across local health districts, pillars, networks and health organisations. The awards recognise personalised, sustainable, and digitally enabled health programs that deliver outcomes that matter most to patients and invest in the wellness of the NSW community. Congratulations to all the extraordinary teams and people who drive innovation, improve patient care, and enrich health in millions of ways every day.
Learn more about the 2026 finalists here.
Learn more about the ADHD reforms here.