Released 19/03/2018
Canberra patients will benefit from a new ACT Health Quality Strategy that will ensure our hospitals and health facilities are offering person-centred, safe and effective care.
Minister for Health and Wellbeing Meegan Fitzharris launched the ACT Health Quality Strategy today and said it would bring a systems approach to delivering high quality care, reduce harm and improve outcomes and processes of care.
“The launch of the ACT Health Quality Strategy is a clear signal to Canberrans that the standards of safety and quality across our health system are of the upmost importance across the health workforce and we are committed to delivering high quality standards of care.
“We know people appreciate the care they receive in our public health system. We have wonderful doctors, nurses and allied health staff who work hard to deliver quality care,” Minister Fitzharris said.
“The Strategy was developed with input from consumers and clinicians to ensure a shared understanding of quality and a commitment to place quality at the heart of the organisation.
“It will support ACT Health to build its reputation, be seen as a healthcare provider of choice and increase public confidence in our health system.”
ACT Health’s quality ambition is to be a high performing health service that provides person-centred, safe and effective care. The strategic priorities focus on improving the experience of care, to proactively seek a reduction in patient harm and to provide the best evidence based care, for every person, every time.
“These priorities address the understanding and meaning of quality, whether as a clinician, administrator, patient or carer. In addition, the priorities will create standardised practices to make it easier to do the right thing, enable quality to be measured and raise the standards of care.
“But at the end of the day, this is all about improving patients’ experience in the health system. It is their health outcomes and their experiences of the health system that ultimately help steer improvements.”
The Strategy will sit alongside other critical health planning work including the Workforce, Digital Health, and Preventative Health strategies and the Territory-wide Health Services Framework.
In developing the Strategy, extensive internal and external consultation with staff and the broader community was undertaken. ACT health engaged the Health Care Consumer’s Association to assist with this engagement.
Health Care Consumers’ Association (HCCA) Executive Director, Darlene Cox said HCCA was very pleased to work with ACT Health, “to have a conversation with consumers and carers about what high quality, safe care means to them,” Ms Cox said.
“An important part of developing the Strategy included our recently published report Spend Time to Save Time.
“We see the Quality Strategy as an important initiative because it includes consumer participation in decision-making, which strengthens outcomes in individual care and leads to improvements in health outcomes.
“And we know that access to quality information helps decision-making and supports an active role for consumers in managing their own health.
“At its most fundamental level, a high performing health care system measures its impact and reports on outcomes and HCCA looks forward to working closely with the ACT Government to implement the Quality Strategy. An important element of this is improving reporting to consumers and carers on the safety and quality of services delivered,” Ms Cox said.
ACT Health Quality Strategy 2018-2028 – Person-centred, Safe and Effective Care
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Meegan Fitzharris, MLA | Media Releases
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