HSE Update on the Quality & Clinical Care Directorate

Wednesday, 25^th August 2010

- 20 Clinical Programmes Established to Improve Patient Care -

- Primary Care, Outpatients, ED, Surgery and Chronic Disease to be targeted –

The HSE’s Quality and Clinical Care Directorate has been established to help improve patient care throughout the health system. The Directorate, led by Dr Barry White, is charged with defining how health services are delivered, measured and resourced.

A total of 20 Clinical Programmes*, led by a multi-disciplinary frontline team of clinicians, have been established over the last 6 months. The programmes are defining the ideal care for patients so that it can be implemented across the country. Specifically they are focusing on solutions, which can start to be implemented in 2011, and which will improve patient care, remove waiting lists and save money. The areas being targeted for improvements include; Primary Care, Out Patients, Emergency Services, Surgery and Chronic Disease.

Each of the programmes is led by a team of national experts, selected by their peers through the academic colleges and professional bodies. The teams include consultant, GP, nursing and allied health professional, management, and regional representatives, who are bringing together experience and expertise from services around the country to help plan the work of the programme. The programmes are currently in the planning phase with implementation due to commence in early 2011.

Speaking today, Dr Barry White, National Director of Quality and Clinical Care said; “We have taken afresh approach to solving some of the problems that exist in the healthcare system in Ireland. We have spent the last number of months putting in place the foundations to allow this to happen.

“20 programmes have now been established under the leadership of a multi-disciplinary team of clinical experts. These programmes, which are joint initiatives with the academic colleges, are defining the ideal care for patients so that it can be implemented across the country. We are specifically focusing on solutions, which will start implementation in 2011 and will improve patient care, remove waiting lists and save money.

“There are many things that work well in areas of the health system, we need to identify these and implement them nationally. By involving frontline staff in the implementation of these solutions we can improve services for patients. We must build trust and credibility within the system to ensure that the improvements being identified by the clinical programmes are realised. We must also ensure that high quality evidence underpins our decisions and that the agreed solutions are implemented nationally”, said Dr White.

The clinical programmes have been developed using the proven model similar to the National Cancer Control Programme to deliver improvements across a large and complex organisation, such as the HSE. The programmes are bringing a systematic approach to changes in how services are delivered to improve outcomes for patients.

As part of its quality and safety remit, the Quality and Clinical Care Directorate is also introducing clinical governance to ensure that patients can get the right treatment. It is establishing a national clinical audit programme and developing guidelines to support service use involvement in the health services. These standards will be measured and audited to ensure that they are delivered across the system.

- ENDS -

*The Clinical Programmes and initiatives are as follows: