Interim board to work on Quality and Safety Commission

10 June 2010

The government has disestablished the Quality Improvement Committee (QIC) and appointed an interim board that will work towards establishing the new independent Health Quality and Safety Commission (HQSC) - as recommended by the Ministerial Review Group last year.

Announcing this in a media statement today, health minister Tony Ryall says once established by legislation, the new independent commission will accelerate safety and quality improvement across the health sector. A bill to this effect is currently before the health select committee.

The MRG reported evidence of substantial human and financial costs associated with medical errors, like prescription and surgical errors and preventable infections. According to one study 13% of people admitted to hospital suffer an unintended injury caused by healthcare that resulted in some disability,” Mr Ryall says in the written statement.

Fully implementing safe medication management, management of healthcare incidents, optimising the patient journey and infection prevention and control, should produce real health and financial benefits to district health boards, the Ministerial Review Group says.

The minister says the new commission will help organisations across the whole sector improve patient safety and service quality – including public and private, at secondary, primary and community levels.

"Its will develop standards and guidelines, benchmark, and gather comparative data on what works. It will help clinicians and managers to make improvements, and publish national quality reports, eg, serious and sentinel events."

Stronger clinical leadership is particularly important for improving patient safety and service quality. The MRG reported that the Health and Disability Commissioner found this area had "slow and patchy" progress.

The interim Board of the HQSC will be led by Professor Alan Merry from the University of Auckland, who is also chair of the Quality and Safety of Practice Committee of the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists.

“Prof Merry led the Safe Anaesthesia Group of the World Health Organisation’s Safe Surgery Saves Lives Initiative -  a surgical safety check list that is being rolled out internationally...The interim board members all bring a wealth of experience in health and we’re pleased to have them onboard," says Mr Ryall.

As well as Professor Merry, the appointments to the interim Board of HQSC, announced by the minister today are:

Dr Peter Foley:  A Hawkes Bay GP who currently chairs the New Zealand Medical Association

Ms Shelly Frost:  Director of nursing for Pegasus Health, Canterbury, who has extensive clinical governance  and leadership experience

Dr David Galler:  Intensive care specialist at Middlemore Hospital, and also principal medical advisor for the Ministry of Health

Mrs Anthea Penny:  Former CEO of Nurse Maude Association, who is also known for her work in health leadership training

Dr Peter Jansen:  A senior medical advisor for ACC, and also on their Maori Advisory Board – with extensive experience as a health manager and clinician.   

Mr Geraint Martin: CEO of Counties Manukau District Health Board, with more than 20 years experience in health management.

The interim board held its inaugural meeting this week in Auckland – the Health Quality and Safety Commission is expected to be up and running later this year.

“The commission reflects an increasing level of commitment from both the government and health services to improving the quality and safety of healthcare in this country,” Mr Ryall says.

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