A new institute for pediatric trauma care is being established in New South Wales following incidents at Bondi Beach and Bondi Junction. Based at the Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick, the NSW Institute for Paediatric Trauma will provide advanced training and simulations to medical teams across the state within six months. Dr. Guy Henry, co-director of trauma services, emphasizes the need for specialized care tailored to children's unique medical needs and advocates for regular mass casualty simulations to improve emergency response capabilities.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-16,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A new institute dedicated to improving emergency medical care for severely injured children will be established in New South Wales following recent high-profile trauma events in the state.
asserted
institute → dedicate → state
Based at the Sydney Children’s hospital in Randwick, the NSW Institute for Paediatric Trauma will bring together clinicians, researchers and specialists to deliver advanced training and simulations across the health system.
asserted
Institute → base → system
Expected to be operational within six months, the institute aims to prepare medical teams for complex paediatric trauma cases, from initial emergency treatment to long-term rehabilitation.
asserted
institute → expect → rehabilitation
The NSW health minister, Ryan Park, said the initiative follows emergency responses to critical incidents in the state.
asserted
initiative → say → state
“The events that occurred at Bondi Beach and at Bondi Junction have forever left their mark on NSW,” Park said.
asserted
Park → occur → NSW
“Seeing the way in which our frontline workers and clinicians responded to these events with such courage and professionalism was nothing short of remarkable.”
asserted
workers → see → courage
“We know we won’t always be able to prevent trauma events, but we can make sure we are ready to respond when children and families need us most.”
asserted
children → know → us
Medical experts stress that treating children requires distinct clinical approaches to treating adults.
asserted
treating → stress → adults
Dr Guy Henry, co-director of trauma services at Randwick, said children’s bodies, injuries and clinical needs differ significantly from adult patients.
asserted
bodies → say → patients
While adult trauma frequently involves assaults or motor vehicle accidents, paediatric admissions generally present distinct patterns, including internal organ injuries in adolescents taking physical risks, and a growing number of e-bike crashes.
asserted
admissions → involve → crashes
“Burns is another issue with children, there’s a different pattern of burns in children compared to adults,” he said.
asserted
he → ’ → adults
“People need to be aware of the differences and need to know how to respond to those differences.”
asserted
People → need → differences
Preparing for mass casualties
Henry, who attended to victims of the Westfield Bondi Junction stabbings in 2024 and the Bondi beach terror attack, said regular education and mass casualty simulations are essential for building response capabilities.
asserted
education → prepare → capabilities
He cited the medical response to the 2017 Manchester Arena attack – where hospital staff had completed a mass casualty simulation six weeks before – as evidence of how practice improves outcomes during critical events.
asserted
practice → cite → events
“Through education, including the use of simulation, we can make people more familiar with managing trauma, with something like a mass casualty that no one might have any experience with,” Henry said.
uncertain
Henry → include → experience
“We get people more familiar, a little bit more comfortable, and that will then make us improve on how we manage things.”
asserted
we → get → things
Training will initially be based at Randwick, with future plans to explore how the program can be expanded across regional NSW and into the ACT, which regularly transfers paediatric trauma cases to Sydney hospitals.
asserted
which → base → hospitals
The institute also aims to extend education simulation training to pre-hospital first responders, including paramedics, firefighters, police and the State Emergency Service.
asserted
institute → aim → paramedics
Beyond clinical care and injury prevention research, the institute will address the psychological toll on healthcare workers and affected families.
asserted
institute → address → workers
“It’s been identified that not only do we have the child that we have to manage, we have the families to manage, we also have our own staff to manage,” Henry said, noting that upskilling staff helps lessen the psychological trauma of critical events.
asserted
staff → identify → events
The institute will draw on expertise across the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network – including the children’s hospital at Westmead and the Newborn and Paediatric Emergency Transport Service – and will complement the Agency for Clinical Innovation’s Institute of Trauma and Injury Management.
asserted
institute → draw → Management
Philanthropic support will be provided through the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation.
asserted
support → provide → Foundation
The Aporia
