Life changing legal service for hospital patients celebrates 5 - year milestone – but without ongoing funding

Imagine being faced with a sudden health crisis and at the same time having to deal with going to court, losing your job or a landlord who won’t do urgent repairs on your home. Unfortunately, this is the reality for thousands of people who often face health and legal crises together.

This is why in 2019, Kingsford Legal Centre UNSW (KLC) collaborated with Prince of Wales Hospital and the Eastern Suburbs Mental Health Service to form a Health Justice Partnership, sending lawyers to hospital wards and patients’ bedsides to help relieve the stress and worry of legal problems. The lawyers are able to work with health professionals like social workers, psychiatrists and nurses for patients’ overall wellbeing. KLC lawyers can also continue to help patients once they have been discharged.

The partnership is celebrating 5 years of cost-effective service delivery. This type of service known as a Health Justice Partnership (HJP) is an evidence-based approach for supporting people with complex health and legal issues. A recent independent evaluation of KLC’s HJP by NSF Consulting has shown the service to be cost-effective and a time saver for health workers. It also has big benefits for patients who feel less stressed and more confident about working through their legal issues.

To find out more about this innovative project go to our evaluation report and our Media Release