Patient Safety and Quality

St Andrew’s is committed to delivering excellence in patient care and clinical services.

Our goal to provide safe and high-quality care for all our patients is articulated to all our staff and volunteers via the safety and quality framework which defines that the care provided at St Andrew’s is patient-focused, driven by information, and organised for safety. Our consumers and Visiting Medical Officers play an important role in ensuring patient safety and quality through active participation in our clinical governance committees.

Hospital Accreditation

St Andrew’s is accredited with the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS). Accreditation is recognised as an important driver for safety and quality improvement. It is a healthcare accreditation body’s public recognition of an organisation’s achievement of set accreditation standards and its level of performance in relation to those standards. In September 2021, the hospital underwent a successful organisation-wide assessment with the ACHS to verify the hospital’s compliance with the second edition of the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (NSQHSS). The assessors spent time – in person and virtually – talking with staff, patients and key committee members, as well as reviewing documentation, systems, results and practices. The feedback from the assessment team was very positive, including a comment in the final report:

‘The assessors found the organisation was well prepared for assessment and participated enthusiastically with knowledge of their hospital, their patients and staff responsibility.’

The hospital also continues to maintain accreditation under the national Diagnostic Imaging Accreditation Scheme (DIAS) Standards.

Quality Improvement

The St Andrew’s team is committed to improving patient safety and quality. Where possible, we work with our consumers to co-design quality improvement projects with fantastic results. In 2021, the Blood Management Committee was successful in a grant application to the SA Blood Management Council for funding to undertake a project titled A review of hypothermia prevention strategies for surgical patients. The goal of the project is to identify opportunities for clinical practice improvement to decrease the incidence of perioperative hypothermia in urology patients and subsequent requirement for transfusion. The project will be led by the Clinical Educator in Recovery.

‘What matters to you?’ Day

Once again, St Andrew’s celebrated ‘What matters to you?’ Day on Thursday 9 June. On the day, we invited patients throughout the hospital to write what matters to them on a handmade leaf. The leaves were then gathered by our staff and, for two weeks, displayed on a tree in the coffee shop. With 52 of our patients responding, we received valuable feedback and enjoyed seeing our patients, staff and volunteers interact in this meaningful way. The information received represented the diversity of values, beliefs and needs of our patients, and has been collated and reviewed as part of our commitment to providing them with the best possible care. ‘What matters to you?’ Day provided us with an opportunity to celebrate everything our teams do each day to ensure our patients receive care tailored to their individual needs.

8.

24.1%

1.

8.4%

2.

19.3%

7.

24.1%

6.

9.6% 5. 3. 0% 12% 4. 2.4%

What matters to you?

1. Communication Felt listened to, information, updates.

2. Staff Caring, empathetic, professional, friendly. 4. Environment/ facilities Décor, noise, cleanliness, equipment.

5. Health

6. Care individual, prompt, competent, safe. 7. Family/Loved ones support

8. Other Garden, consider what others don’t have in healthcare, education, sleep, rain, a balcony for fresh air.