WELCOME TO THE NEW QUALITY AND PATIENT SAFETY DIRECTORATE DR ORLA HEALY LEADS OUT NEW DIVISION AS NATIONAL CLINICAL DIRECTOR QUALITY AND PATIENT SAFETY WITHIN THE OFFICE OF CHIEF CLINCIAL OFFICER
Q
uality and Patient Safety (QPS) has been reconfigured following the Corporate Centre Review, with the establishment of a new Directorate under the leadership of Dr Orla Healy, National Clinical Director Quality and Patient Safety, within the Office of the Chief Clinical Officer. This includes the merging of a number of functions from the former Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement Teams. This is a positive development with QPS accountable for ensuring services meet standards for quality and patient safety and implement SUBDIVISIONS improvements to minimise patient harm, reduce unwarranted variations The HSE Centre Review set out a in healthcare, and achieve highnumber of subdivisions of the QPS quality patient-centred care. The new Directorate as follows: QPS function will take a leadership role in relation to the HSE’s response Patient Safety Programme: Patient to safety incidents and overall Safety Oversight Committee and improvement in quality and patient Reporting; National Medication Safety safety through the implementation Programme - Lead: Dr Cate Hartigan of the National Patient Safety Strategy Quality Improvement: QI Programmes 2019-2024. and Initiatives; Clinical Audit Unit The Strategy will underpin all our Lead: Maria Lordan Dunphy work and establishes six key Incident Management and Open commitments to patient safety and Disclosure - Lead: Lorraine Schwanberg outlines actions required to address QPS Intelligence: Clinical risk; Systems these commitments. This will form & Analytical Intelligence – Lead: Dr the basis for the priorities of the new function. These commitments are: Jennifer Martin • Empowering and engaging patients Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection to improve patient safety Prevention and Control (AMRIC) • Empowering and engaging staff to Lead: Prof Martin Cormican improve patient safety
Patient Safety Strategy 2019-2024
• • • •
Anticipating and responding to risks to patient safety Reducing the common causes of harm Using information to improve patient safety Providing effective leadership and governance to improve patient safety
DATE FOR YOUR DIARY WHO WORLD PATIENT SAFETY DAY TAKES PLACE ON SEPTEMBER 17TH 2021. THE THEME THIS YEAR IS ‘SAFE MATERNAL AND NEWBORN CARE’. World Patient Safety Day is an opportunity to promote health care safety, increase awareness about patient safety and recognise the work already under way. In collaboration with colleagues across the health system, we will run a number of lunchtime talks/ learning events during the week leading up to Patient Safety Day. This will culminate in series of events on September 17th which may be accessed virtually over the course of Patient Safety Day. The daily events on September 13th to 16th will comprise elements of patient safety in maternal and infant healthcare, showcasing the work of the National Women and Infant Health Programme. In addition the new national QPS Directorate will showcase work already under way and introduce the new National QPS Directorate, structures and high-level plans. Links to a number of presentations/ videos will be available on the Patient Safety Day media page. Staff across the HSE are encouraged to highlight and celebrate World Patient Safety Day in their own workplaces.
For more information, contact Dr Cate Hartigan: cate.hartigan1@hse.ie
72 | HEALTH MATTERS AUTUMN 2021
072_HSE Health Matters_New Direcotrate_corporate.indd 72
30/08/2021 12:59
