Best-practice standards and safe healthcare
At MQ Health, your care and safety are of the utmost importance to us. We ensure this through a best practice system of continuous evaluation and review.
We're committed to providing high-quality healthcare services and achieving optimum customer satisfaction.
Patient Safety and Quality at MQ Health focuses on its accountability to meet standards of performance in all aspects of operational and clinical governance.
MQ Health maintains a comprehensive patient safety and quality system and is accredited to the National Safety and Quality in Health Service Standards and other relevant industry standards.
To ensure that the system is successfully implemented we:
- identify consumer requirements
- ensure our staff are aware of their responsibilities by providing training and professional development opportunities
- ensure the patient safety and quality management system is consistently followed
- actively seek consumer experience feedback.
Our performance is measured through:
- participation in benchmarking programs monitored by the Australian Council of Healthcare Standards
- a comprehensive clinical review program focusing on patient care within the different specialties of medicine and surgery
- assessment against the requirements of the National Safety and Quality in Health Service Standards
- yearly evaluation of our quality management system
- Internal auditing program
- Consumer feedback program
Patient experience
Gathering feedback of patients' experience is an important tool utilised by MQ Health to to improve our services.
Information is gathered through a variety of different methods including:
- surveys
- direct feedback
- via the Consumer Advisory Committee.
MQ Health uses Net Promoter Score survey to measure patients' willingness to return and ‘promote’ the service to a friend or family member, and can range from -100 to 100.
One of the most effective ways to prevent infection is for all health professionals, hospital staff, patients and visitors to practice good hand hygiene. This means using the appropriate method either hand washing with soap and water or the use of Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitiser.
MQ Health participate in the National Hand Hygiene Initiative.
We measure how well we are performing by undertaking observations of the number of staff who practice 'the five moments of hand hygiene'.
Our results
| National benchmark | MQ Health |
|---|---|
| 80.00% | 80.00% (1st quarter 2020) |
We aim to minimise the risk of infection to patients, staff and visitors who come to our facility. One of the main ways we measure this is through Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream nfections per 10,000 overnight patient care days.
Our results
| National benchmark | MQ Health |
|---|---|
| < 2 | 0.178 (1st quarter 2020) |
We measure the number of patients who are readmitted to hospital 28 days after their initial discharge to help us to understand more about our patient journey.
Monitoring of unplanned readmissions to hospital helps provides an indication of the quality of service provided by our hospital, including the effectiveness of our discharge planning and processes as well an understanding of complications after patients are discharged home.
This is reported as a percentage of patients who were discharged in the same month.
Our results
| Peer benchmark | MQ Health |
|---|---|
| 0.383 readmissions | 0.251 readmissions (1st quarter 2020) |
The increased risk of having a fall during a hospital stay has been linked to changes in physical and sensory function, the use of certain medications and medical conditions.
MQ Health use a number of strategies to reduce the risk of patients suffering a fall whilst in hospital. If you have previously had a fall please speak to the nursing staff and together strategies can be put in place to keep you safe.
Our results
| Peer benchmark | MQ Health |
|---|---|
| 0.0210 | 0.0205 (1st quarter 2020) |
A pressure injury can occur when a patient is unable to move freely due to illness, injury or surgery. We will work with you and help you to be as mobile as possible to reduce the risk of developing a pressure injury.
If you have any wounds when you come to hospital or previously had a pressure injury, please let your nurse know so that together we can manage your wound and prevent further pressure injuries.
During your stay if you notice any signs that a pressure injury may be developing such as a red mark or pain please speak to your healthcare team. We will put strategies in place to manage and reduce the risk of potential pressure injuries occurring.
Our results
| Peer benchmark | MQ Health |
|---|---|
| 0.0012 | 0.0010 (1st quarter 2020) |
R.E.A.C.H. program
We understand that you know yourself and your loved one best.
MQ Health have implemented the Clinical Excellence Commission’s R.E.A.C.H. program to help patients, carers or families to raise a concern about a worrying change in theirs or a loved one’s physical or mental condition.
We encourage you to firstly speak to your nurse or doctor when you notice a worrying change. If you are still concerned after speaking to a member of your healthcare team REACH provides you with an alternative way to escalate your concerns.
Recognise – you may recognise a worrying change in your family member or friend's condition, or in yourself before it is evident to staff members.
Engage – we encourage you to talk to your nurse or doctor and tell them your concerns.
Ask – ask the nurse in charge for a clinical review. This should occur within 30 minutes.
Call – if you are still concerned, call for an emergency response by phoning 02 9812 3257 or ask for the ward phone. State the ward and patient's name.
Help – calling the R.E.A.C.H. number 02 9812 3257 will initiate help to come to the patient.
Staff will not be offended if a REACH call is made. MQ Health want our patients, family members and carers to be actively involved in theirs or their loved one’s care.