Young people make up approximately 16% of Western Sydney Local Health District’s population, making enormous contributions to their families and bringing energy, vibrancy and new ways of thinking to our community. Supporting young people to be healthy and well is a high priority for Western Sydney Local Health District.
On a day-to-day basis, many young people living in this area experience good health and wellbeing, and access primary health care and specialist (community and inpatient) care health services on an as-needs basis.
However, this is not the case for a significant proportion of young people, with many telling us that they do not always have the access to the health care that they need. Barriers to accessing the right health care at the right time can be amplified for young people who are members of priority populations, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (including refugees and newly arrived migrants), young people with disability and LGBTIQ+ young people.