NSW Health Statement of Agreed Principles

21 Nov 2016

NSW Health convened a meeting in July 2016 where interested stakeholders explored how to build a more respectful culture in medicine. At this meeting it was agreed that endorsement of a Statement of Agreed Principles is an important step towards significant culture change.

The purpose of the Statement is to demonstrate our clear commitment to ensuring that our places of work, training and education are places where everybody is treated with dignity and respect. The Statement is based on peer-reviewed literature that indicates the importance of organisational leaders making a clear statement regarding acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

The Statement is a positive and transparent mechanism by which we, and other stakeholders, provide leadership and agree to work within a set of shared principles to build a better medical culture. It is important that we let our patients, students, employees and the community know that this issue is being taken seriously.

You can find the full statement at http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/workforce/culture/Publications/respectful-culture-in-medicine.pdf