Maximising the Quality Factor

Type: eChapter
Book Title:	Nurse Managers 2nd Edition
Chapter:	12
This education is:	eligible for CPD

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Chapter 12: Maximising the Quality Factor

Descriptions:

Quality in health care has been defined as ‘doing the right thing, the first time, in the right way, and at the right time’ (NSW Health 2002). Consumers of health care expect that the services provided will be safe, effective, appropriate, consumer-focused, accessible and efficient. The challenge for providers of health care is to monitor and improve systems continuously to satisfy these expectations.

Advances in scientific understanding, therapeutics and technology in recent decades have resulted in better care, but these improvements have also introduced higher levels of complexity into systems without a companion system of evaluation—a system of evaluation that ensures the best possible care for patients. In addition, the complexity of modern health care has increased the opportunities for system failures and human error. The concerns expressed by clinicians, consumers, governments and the media have resulted in an increasing focus on quality and safety in Western health-care systems over recent years.

The nurse manager is the pivotal person to lead the way in improving services within his or her area of responsibility. The establishment of standards of professional nursing practice, and the maintenance and evaluation of these standards, are central to the role of manager. As a professional, the nurse manager is required to be accountable for the quality of nursing services in his or her area of responsibility. This involves ensuring effective staff management, accountability of shift leaders after hours, relationship management with other members of the health-care team, financial management, client and staff satisfaction, and service planning and implementation. The concepts inherent in any quality-improvement framework are applicable to all aspects of the nurse manager’s role.

Topics:

Introduction
The nature of quality improvement
Clinical governance
Consumers and customer service
Beginning the process
- The PDSA cycle
Plan
- Defining the problem
- Setting goals
- Understanding why the problem is occurring
Do
Study
Act
Storyboards
Sustaining improvements
Conclusion
References

Speaker/ Author:

Therese Caine
Therese is a registered nurse who holds postgraduate qualifications in hospital administration and workplace assessment and training. Therese has had extensive experience as a nurse clinician, a health service executive and a consultant. She has worked extensively in nursing service development, quality improvement, risk management and change management in rural and metropolitan health services. Therese enjoys bike riding and has ridden her pushbike on long journeys from Cairns to Cape York and from Kununurra to Broome in Australia. She is currently working in her own consultancy business using a collaborative model of work with other likeminded consultants.

Catherine Steele
Cathie has many years experience in health executive and management roles, including quality, patient safety, risk management and strategic planning. She has held the position of clinical associate professor of physiotherapy at Melbourne University, worked in health consultancy and is a surveyor with the Australian Council on Health Care Standards. Her extensive experience in rural, regional and metropolitan health-care organisations supports the development of effective governance and management systems for safe high-quality health care. Cathie is currently the general manager of the Australian Centre for Health Innovation at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. This unique centre supports the development, testing and demonstration of systems and technologies that improve patient safety and quality of care.

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