Queensland push for overhaul of nationwide patient safety reporting

All Australians would have access to patient safety and quality reporting data in all public and private hospitals under a push by Queensland Health Minister Cameron Dick to standardise the reporting across the country.

The Minister will urge state and territory health ministers to align safety and quality reporting standards to improve transparency at today’s COAG Health Council meeting today in Brisbane.

Mr Dick said ensuring patients were safe and received the highest quality of care during their journey through the health system – whether it be a public or private hospital – was a high priority for the Palaszczuk Government.

“We must continue to drive improvements that maintain Queensland’s leading health system with the aim to improve patient experiences and outcomes,” he said.

“Having an appropriate level of information publicly available about the quality and safety of healthcare across both the public and private sectors supports high-quality healthcare.”

Mr Dick said aligning reporting would support related national work underway on the Review of Australia’s health system performance information and reporting frameworks, the national linkage of hospital data and the national health reform working group.

He said the Palaszczuk Government was also seeking public feedback to the discussion paper about reporting which was released today - Expanding Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety Reporting Discussion Paper 2017.

The discussion paper canvasses bringing private hospitals into line with the patient safety reporting now done by public hospitals.

Private hospitals are currently excluded from a range of patient safety reporting requirements common in public hospitals.

Mr Dick said the discussion paper aimed to seek the views and expectations of the community about public reporting of healthcare quality and patient safety information.

“Given that the majority of elective surgery in Queensland is carried out in private hospitals, the Palaszczuk Government is seeking feedback as to whether the reporting requirements for private hospitals should be the same as those that apply to public hospitals,” he said.

“Queensland is fortunate to have a world-class health system and a strong safety culture in our hospitals and other health services.

“The discussion paper will canvass views on what should be reported, which organisations should report, who should be the audience, what indicators should be reported and how and where should information be reported.

“I believe if we’re going to continue to maintain a strong safety culture in Queensland hospitals, we should ensure the information reported is relevant, accessible and reported by all hospitals.

“That way, the community has the best information available to make informed choices about their own healthcare and the healthcare of their loved ones.”

Health Consumers Queensland CEO Melissa Fox supported the release of the discussion paper and said greater transparency in reporting would drive an increase in the safety of health services.

“We welcome the Government’s acknowledgement that the expansion of public reporting of health service outcomes must be driven by the needs and wishes of Queenslanders,” she said.

“Queensland consumers, carers and families are at the heart of our health system.

“A sophisticated health system must embrace a culture of listening, reflecting and continually improving.

“This requires courage, the collection of accurate and meaningful data, both public and private, and the ability to communicate this to the public in a timely way which we understand.

“Queenslanders also want to know about the experiences of other consumers, as they journey through our health system. All of this information can help us make decisions about what care we want, and from whom.

“We look forward to sharing this consultation opportunity within our networks, and helping patients and their families to tell the State Government what information we want to know about our health system.”

Feedback can be provided through an online survey or a written submission by email or post. All submissions must be received by 5pm, Friday 27 October 2017. To view the discussion paper or submit feedback, visit the Queensland Health website.

ENDS

Media contact:              

Emma McBryde             0447 155 332