Kingsford Legal Centre secures funding for a Health Justice Partnership
The partnership will allow for those admitted to Prince of Wales Hospital to access legal assistance when they need it most.
Published on the 21 May 2019
UNSW’s Kingsford Legal Centre (KLC) has announced that the NSW state government will fund a solicitor to deliver a Health Justice Partnership at Prince of Wales Hospital. The service will start on 1 July.
The Heath Justice Partnership service will support people who are particularly at risk of poor health and unmet legal need, such as those experiencing family violence, elder abuse or are from culturally and linguistically diverse communities. By embedding legal help into healthcare services, the aim is to better identify and respond to those at the intersection of these issues.
“Kingsford Legal Centre is excited to be working with Prince of Wales Hospital to deliver legal help to patients during what can be a difficult and emotionally overwhelming time,” Director of the Kingsford Legal Centre, Emma Golledge said.
“We think this type of legal help will make a huge difference in the quality of people’s lives and will directly affect their health outcomes.”
KLC received generous financial support from the international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, which will contribute towards the initial startup costs of the partnership. A tender process has also secured the Centre’s state government funding for the next three years.
Prince of Wales Hospital is a major public teaching hospital located in Randwick. It provides a full range of hospital services to the people of NSW and has 450 inpatient beds and almost 3,000 staff. Each year, the hospital cares for more than 58,000 patients in its Emergency Department with a further 50,000 admitted to the hospital.