Board on Board with Quality of Clinical Care: Quality Improvement Project. Case Study Report Mater Misericordiae University Hospital

The HSE Quality Improvement Team has completed a demonstration project with the Mater Hospital to enhance the Board of Directors' role in overseeing and contributing to the improvement of the quality of care provided at the clinical front line.

The aim of the project was that the board:

(i) get a comprehensive picture of the quality of care;

(ii) have an understanding of same;

(iii) act to hold the hospital accountable on the quality of clinical care delivered.

Other Boards and staff involved in governance for quality and patient safety can learn from this work and see how the Quality Improvement Division worked with the Mater to develop tools and skills which support the Board to assume greater responsibility for, and strengthen its impact on, the hospital's quality performance. Please click link below to the 'Quality Improvement Project: Case Study Report'.

HSE Board on Board with Quality of Clinical Care

Sir Stephen Moss, former chair of the Board of NHS Mid-Staffordshire, visited Ireland on 5^th June 2014 to share experience and assist Irish board members to learn from other boards’ approach to quality and Safety.

The four reflective questions he proposes boards consider are:

If there is one lesson to be learnt, I suggest that people must always come before numbers. How is your Board making this a reality?
How do you proactively seek out the views of the community you serve and how does the Board use this intelligence to improve the quality of care?
How do your Board members get the evidence to assure them of the safety and quality of services you provide?
As a Board how do you ensure the right balance between strategy /operational issues in Board meetings, and how do you use operational feedback relating to patient safety and experience to develop strategic intentions.

Biography of Sir Stephen Moss

A nurse by background, and has spent his entire career in the NHS. After a number of years in clinical practice, he moved into a variety of nursing and general management roles and has over 30 years experience in posts at Board level, including Chief Nurse, Chief Executive, Non-Executive Director and Chairman. Stephen was appointed by the Secretary of State as a Commissioner on the Board of the first health service quality regulator, the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI). In February 2009, Stephen was asked to join the Board of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust as a Non-Executive Director, shortly before the publication of the highly critical Healthcare Commission Report. He took on the role of Chairman in August 2009 until January 2012. Stephen has recently been appointed a Non-Executive Director at Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.