ACHSNEWS The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards

The official newsletter from ACHS to communicate to all member organisations and our stakeholders

ACHSNEWS

See Inside For: ◊ AAGP ◊ Surveyor Workforce ◊ ISQua Accreditation ◊ Improvement Academy

No. 61 Summer 2018

The new National

Safety and Quality

Healthcare (NSQHS)

Standards

second edition were

released in November

2017 with a planned

commencement date

of 1 January, 2019.

As an approved

accreditation provider,

ACHS are working

with the Australian

Commission on Safety

and Quality in Health

Care (the Commission) to be able to inform our members

and surveyors of the planned changes to the scheme and

to assist with the transition.

The second edition of the NSQHS Standards consists of

eight standards and 148 actions, compared to the first

edition of 10 standards and 256 actions, however this

does not mean a reduction of the Standards. The

Commission has communicated that the second edition

Standards address gaps identified in the first edition,

including mental health and cognitive impairment, health

literacy, end of-life care, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander health.

The Commission developed a mapping document of the

NSQHS Standards first edition to the second edition,

which shows that 96 of the 148 actions in the second

edition relates to all of the content from the first edition

Standards. This mapping document is available on the

Commission’s website.

There are 52 new actions in the second edition

standards. A number of these were represented in

EQuIPNational, however there is further new content

contained in the NSQHS Standards second edition that

will be new to member organisations.

To assist our members and our surveyors to transition to

the NSQHS Standards second edition, ACHS has

mapped the EQuIP-content Standards and actions to the

Commission’s mapping document.

ACHS will work with all of our member organisations who

will be transitioning to the NSQHS Standards second

edition from 1 January 2019. ACHS surveys to the

NSQHS Standards first edition will continue until

December 2018.

To see more information about the NSQHS Standards

second edition, or to download a copy of them, visit the

Commission’s website at: www.safetyandquality.gov.au/

The requirements of the ACSQHC accreditation scheme

are currently in the process of being finalised. ACHS will

continue to keep our members informed of any updates

regarding the second edition Standards and the

accreditation scheme, as they are advised to us.

“We are mindful that there may only be 8 standards, but it

is important everyone understands that cumulatively

there will be more work than with the first edition,” said Dr

Christine Dennis. “ACHS will ensure the transition is

easy for our members.”

ACHSNEWS 2

Following the retirement of Dr Desmond Yen in

late 2017, a new Executive Director for ACHSI

was recruited and Mr Michael Giuliano was

appointed, commencing in the role on 23

October. Here are a few words from Mr Giuliano

addressed to the ACHSI members.

Dear Members

Thank you for your continued membership,

support, and interest in the Australian Council on

Healthcare Standards (ACHS). I am honoured to

assume the role of Executive Director –

International Business and continue the strong

legacy and foundation that my predecessor, Dr

Desmond Yen, has developed internationally. I

want to thank Desmond for his tireless and

dedicated work to ACHS and wish him all the

best for the future.

In the coming weeks and months, I look forward

to meeting you all in person. My team and I are

committed to developing a strong personal

and professional relationship with our entire

international network as together we are

partners in building a future defined by

excellent patient quality and safety. The entire

ACHS team is passionate about realising our

vision to ‘inspire excellence in healthcare’ and

will continually aim to accomplish this via a

collaborative approach with our members.

In the future, we hope to refine and launch new

products and services to better serve our

international member’s needs to continually

improve and advance patient care. We will keep

you across these advancements and invite you

to inform us about anything we can do to serve

you better now and into the future. As always,

our products and services will be underpinned by

industry leading customer service from our

dedicated Australian team members.

Thank you again for your

membership and I look

forward to meeting you soon.

Kind regards,

Michael Giuliano

One of our achievements last year was the approval gained for

ACHS to become an accreditation provider to the new Royal

Australian College of General Practice (RACGP) 5th edition

Standards. We are continuing to build our (small) but growing

workforce for surveyors who are interested in surveying to

these standards. If you know someone in your network of

contacts who may be interested, please contact Valerie Smith

on (02) 8218 2750 and she will be pleased to have a chat with

them.

ACHS is keen to grow our reputation in this new (for us) sector

and know we will be relying on competent, highly-skilled

surveyors to offer a level of difference for General Practices

keen to change to a new accreditation provider.

Surveying to our new program, ACHS Accreditation for General

Practices (AAGP) will commence in February, and we will offer

education for interested surveyors.

The modules are currently in the planning stage with the

RACGP, and should be online soon.

Welcome to Susan Oliver

Ms Susan Oliver joins us as the new

Customer Services Manager for Queensland

and has more than 28 years clinical nursing

experience in Paediatric and Neonatal

Intensive Care.

There are a string of other areas she has

worked in, including: acute medical & surgical paediatrics,

paediatric sleep studies, radiology and interventional medicine,

cardiac and coronary care, rehabilitation, adolescent and eating

disorder clinics, acute craniofacial and plastic surgery, ENT, day

surgery and health education.

Susan trained in the UK as a Registered General Nurse (RGN)

and then at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street

as a Registered Sick Children’s Nurse (RSCN). Arriving in

Australia in 1988 Susan then completed Paediatric Critical Care

Certificate and gained experience as the Nursing Unit Manager

of Paediatric Intensive Care at Westmead Hospital Sydney.

“My interest in ACHS connects with being involved in improving

the safety and quality of care provided in hospitals to ensure

patients experience high-quality care, and to support health

professionals in this,” she said. “As a senior clinical nurse and

experienced project manager there is a lot I can bring to the role

to ensure members have the confidence in approaching and

understanding their accreditation requirements.”

ACHSNEWS 3

The latest healthcare accreditation program offering from

ACHS – ACHS Accreditation for General Practices

was launched at the annual industry conference in late

October.

More than 2,100 delegates attended the Royal Australian

College on General Practice (RACGP) conference held

at the new Sydney Convention Centre, Darling Harbour

from Thursday 26 to Saturday 28th October, where we

had a booth.

“ACHS is proud to be a part of an integral component of

the Australian healthcare landscape – general practices -

as we bring our expertise as Australia’s most

experienced healthcare accreditation provider to a new

area,” said Dr Christine Dennis, ACHS CEO.

“We are excited to finally be able to offer accreditation to

General Practices and have already received some

expressions of interest, as well as booked surveys for

early in 2018.”

“While we may be the newest provider to this sector, we

have confidence that our reputation, our history and our

interest in this area will service us well, as general

practices consider their options to pursue new

accreditation providers.

“Central to our offer is that we not only seek to always be

price competitive, but we aim to provide value, alongside

trust, having both developed standards and delivered

accreditation to primary healthcare, here and in 18

countries overseas, for 44 years.

“ACHS is probably the widest known, and most

respected brand in healthcare accreditation in Australia

and we aim to continue that legacy for general practices,

to provide a competitive choice for practices that are

seeking a change from the past.

Contact ACHS on (02) 9281 9955 to speak directly to a

Customer Services Manager about your Practice

accreditation needs.

Newsflash! Newsflash! Newsflash!

ACHSNEWS 4

Hello – from me!

Many of you will have already

met the ‘new’ chief – me! I am

delighted to be working in this

position, as a replacement for

Rosemary Snodgrass, and hope

to ensure the smooth continued

running of the valuable Surveyor

Workforce. I have learnt so

much in the few short months

since I commenced this role and

I look forward to meeting any surveyors who I am yet to

meet.

The Surveyor Workforce team is small and efficient, and

we take great pride in how we can assist the many ACHS

surveyors, to ensure their needs and requests are met,

and that we present as a united, co-ordinated team to

help ACHS fulfil its mission:

“To strengthen safe, quality healthcare by continuously

advancing standards and education national and

internationally.”

I have been impressed with the sheer scope of work we

undertake, and continue to be delighted with the strong

level of commitment and dedication our surveyors have.

I am enjoying the role and having the opportunity to meet

some of our member partners, and have been fortunate

over the years to have worked with many of you already

in the field. Thank you for the support you have given to

me to date – it is appreciated.

I would also like to formally

welcome my colleague Heather

Brown who has joined us for two

days a week in the role of

Surveyor Resource Co-ordinator,

which is to redesign our feedback

system, to ensure our members

are well supported in their

surveyor role and ensure we

provide appropriate education.

Valerie Smith

Surveyor Workforce Coordinator

In case you hadn’t noticed ... its 2018!!

We are looking forward to 2018 being another rewarding

year for surveyors, particularly with the education roll-out

for the NSQHS Standards (second edition). This is a

major priority for us and we will share more information

about it later in the year. We are currently planning the

annual Development Days for surveyors. The first will be

the annual Co-ordinator Day on Tuesday 13 February,

with the remaining days booked for July onwards.

All surveyors will need to transition to the new NSQHS

Standards throughout the year, ready for implementation

in 2019, and we will help deliver this.

Thank you Arthur Wooster

After a total of 36 years dedicated

surveying, one of our longest-ever

serving surveyors. Arthur Wooster

has decided to retire.

Describing it as “a most interesting,

informative and at times challenging

journey”, Arthur said “there have

been many experiences and

learnings along the way”.

“Obviously there have been many iterations in how we

record and present information obtained during a survey,

starting with initial expositions on a blank piece of paper

when I first conducted my surveys, through to just about

everything being done online today,” he said.

And one of the most interesting facts learnt along the

way: “Uranium oxide makes lovely green colouring on

ceramic tiles, specifically used in operating theatres for

more than 50 years, before someone bothered to test

them with a Geiger counter”. The things that only a

ACHS surveyor gets to find out!

Arthur said there were many fond memories of meeting

people of different cultures and backgrounds, united in

presenting their best possible version of a safe health

system.

“I am thankful to the ACHS for the opportunities this gave

me to spread the word about quality, about health being a

people business and the real reason a health service

exists is to serve its patients.”

Thank you Arthur for your contributions to ACHS success

over the years, and we wish you good health and

happiness in the future!

ACHSNEWS 5

Our Achievements and Milestones

2017 was probably one of the busiest years to date in our history.

If you would like to find out more information on our achievements during the past financial year,

please go to www.achs.org.au or contact Communications for a hard copy of the Annual Report.

On behalf of every ACHS staff member, Board and Council member and our many

surveyors who continue to provide essential support and represents us in the broad

healthcare community – thank you all for your commitment to ACHS and helping us to

meet our mission – To strengthen safe, quality healthcare by continuously

advancing standards and education nationally and internationally.

Being able to consistently meet so many targets

and achievements would not have been possible

without the ongoing support of our more than 1,470

members. As a not-for-profit organisation we are

a company limited by guarantee, and the majority of

our funding is derived from membership fees.

ACHS, in partnership with ACHSM,

held a very successful national congress in

September in Sydney. The theme was

“The winds of change—adjust your sails”

and was attended by more than 500

delegates.

We educated and trained our surveyors

through a national Surveyor

Development Day and held multiple

State Advisory Committees meetings to

keep our fingers on the pulse of what is

happening across the different jurisdictions

around the nation.

More than 20 countries overseas were visited, and we attended

numerous conferences (including our own – held in September in

Sydney) here and overseas. ACHS continued to work on

developing the standards for new programs such as

EQuIP6, EQuIP6 Day Procedure Centres and EQuIP6

Healthcare Support Services. The new EXEMPLAR Award

was launched in June, and we continued to hold the very

successful Quality Improvement Awards (winners were

announced in Sept). Newly updated clinical indicators were

released including: Infection Control, Radiation Oncology, and

Radiology.

We held a total of 46 workshops

and programs (excluding webinars)

under the ACHS Improvement

Academy.

Nearly 360 surveys – nearly

one for every day of the year -

were completed, we trained a

total of 295 active existing

surveyors.

A new Constitution was unanimously

agreed to by the ACHS Council at the

June Council meeting. The new

constitution reflects contemporary

governance practices.

ACHSNEWS 6

In case you haven’t noticed, ACHS has been

on social media for a while now and we are

pleased to be gradually growing our

audiences. We are aiming to offer

communication channels other than solely

traditional print ones, (such as this newsletter)

and to have two-way conversations with our

audiences. Although, we generally only use

Twitter to reach outside our familiar network

and into the broader reaches of people who

follow health issues. Our conference

speakers are a good example of material

worth tweeting.

If you have something to share or tell us, and you use Facebook – visit our Facebook page and tell us when you like us. We are aiming to strengthen our use of this platform over time, so we welcome any encouragement. We may even Like you in return!

It may come only once every three years, but accreditation can feel a lot like another annual event, just without the

jolly gentleman giving our rewards for children who’ve been good all year round.

The jubilation and relief of getting through a survey is very similar (for some) to that of Christmas – but without the

hangover of indulging in too much food and drink. ACHS recently put in a lot of effort for its own re-accreditation in

November by ISQua and had the pleasure of passing its survey with only two recommendations.

“Naturally we are delighted with the result, and our staff can take credit for what was a very smooth survey week,”

said ACHS CEO Dr Christine Dennis.

“We are use to going through it every couple of years,

but there is always those questions of how we think we

have performed, and how the external surveyors

perceive our efforts.

“It was a great opportunity to document the numerous

changes we’ve made across the organisation in recent

years, and makes us realise how far we have come,

too.”

ISQua announced the result in the first week of

December. Congratulations to everyone at ACHS!

1 February Tasmania State Advisory Committee

6 February South Australia State Advisory Committee

13 February Coordinator Development Day

8 March Victoria State Advisory Committee

28 March NSW State Advisory Committee

30 Mar – 2 April Easter Long Week-end

25 April ANZAC Day

11 June Queen’s Birthday Long Week-end

28 June ACHS Council Meeting

5 July QLD Surveyor Development Day

12 July NSW Surveyor Development Day

19 July SA Surveyor Development Day

2 August WA Surveyor Development Day

16 August VIC Surveyor Development Day

23 August NSW Surveyor Development Day

12 September International Forum on Quality and Safety in

Healthcare – ACHS Conference in

partnership with IHI and BMJ, Melbourne

22 November ACHS Council Meeting and Annual General

Meeting

ACHS Staff with ISQua Surveyors in November.

ACHSNEWS 7

Be a part of the most dynamic Healthcare Forum in

the Southern Hemisphere in 2018!

Now in its 23rd year the International Forum on Quality

and Safety in Healthcare is a biannual gathering of

healthcare professionals in quality improvement and

patient safety.

The International Forum supports and energises the

movement for healthcare improvement and connects

healthcare leaders and practitioners worldwide to

improve outcomes for patients and communities in two

hemispheres.

Our new three-day International Forum in the southern

hemisphere in spring takes place in the APAC region.

Bringing together more than 1,200 healthcare

professionals, the event offers a program with 60+

sessions and presentations, delivered by local experts

and internationally recognised keynotes.

The program is developed in close partnership with

regional strategic partners of which ACHS is proud to be

one, ensuring that it addresses regional needs. The

inaugural event was in Hong Kong in 2015 and the

next International Forum takes place in Melbourne, on 10

-12 September 2018. Find out more about Melbourne

2018

The ever-evolving International Forum

guarantees to:

• Invigorate the mind

• Embrace fresh ideas

• Accelerate progress

• Recognise individual accomplishments

• Discover new pioneers and leaders

• Build human global networks

Mission

The mission of the International Forum is to support the

movement for healthcare improvement. The aim is to

improve outcomes for patients and communities, provide

practical ideas that can be implemented in the workplace,

promote research into quality and safety improvement,

foster effective innovation, and connect healthcare

leaders and practitioners worldwide. We meet these aims

through four and three day meetings in April and

September.

Both Forums bring together a very international group of

people (from chief executives and government officials to

healthcare managers and clinicians) who share a

concern and a passion for improving quality and safety in

healthcare. Every year the delegates take part in

sessions that range from the basic disciplines of quality

improvement to the latest thinking in how to improve

quality and safety.

Our history: 23 years of inspiring healthcare

The first International Forum on Quality and Safety in

Healthcare took place in London in 1996 and the

conference was actually called ‘European Forum on

Quality and Safety in Health Care’. Around 300 delegates

attended, driven by their ambition to provide the best

possible care to patients. The first steps towards

recognising that there are opportunities for change were

made.

Since becoming the International Forum on Quality and

Safety in Healthcare in 2007, the event has grown even

larger and more international.

Building on years of success, they launched an

International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare

in APAC in 2015, aiming to showcase internationally

recognised keynotes and to address regional needs.

Early Bird Registration Now Open

You can now register to attend the Forum in Melbourne

10-12 September 2018. Why not book during Early Bird

and save $155 on the standard individual rate?

You can take advantage of the group savings too – bring

along your colleagues to make further savings as a

group.

Early Bird discounts are valid until 9th July 2018.

Five star rating from our past students!

“Bernie, your invariable energy is deeply, sincerely,

hopelessly infectious!” Yogesh Chandra, Royal

Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, QLD

“Being fairly new to the world of quality, I certainly got

a lot out of it, particularly the topics covered on

innovation.” Robyn Catto, LHS

“Quality Improvement can sometimes feel like more

luck than anything else. Thank you for providing

structure and guidelines to help with future QI

programs. The whole course was fantastic and

already has benefits within my department.” Dr Carl

Luckhoff, Sandringham Hospital, Alfred Health, VIC

Visit our Website for 2018 dates

ACHSNEWS 8

New ACHS Improvement Academy

Dates for 2018

Two lead Program courses - register for 2018

Step up and take advantage of the best

improvement-science healthcare programs offered

anywhere in Australia

Patient Safety Lead programs

To be offered in Melbourne and Perth, this Program

is staff responsible for leading and improving

patient safety, covering:

• New paradigms for successful applications of

patient safety in healthcare,

• Clinical risk from the patient’s perspective, and

clinical governance responsibilities for quality

and safety,

• Legislative responsibilities in relation to harm,

and reportable incidents,

• Covers seven other significant areas of the QI

approach patient safety.

Quality Improvement Lead training

programs

Get ready to book now in either Melbourne or Perth

for the program that gives the full framework for

senior staff in healthcare organisations who lead

quality activities to act with confidence – and

deliver!

Areas and activities covered include patient-based

care and co-design, improvements in patient

safety, outcomes, efficiency and access to

services, as well as designing new models of care,

particularly for chronic and complex disease

management across continuum of care.

Register here

These 12 month programs provide practical

skills and theories that can be translated

back into the workplace to immediately

improve patient safety. The programs

include 4 x 2 day modules, webinars and

email support. Registrations for 2018 close

soon! QIL Graduation Ceremony on 1 December 2017 in Sydney.