A gazetted Quality Assurance Committee is a committee that has been declared as an approved quality assurance committee pursuant to the Quality Assurance provisions of the Health Services Act 1991, and whose appointed members have been granted statutory protection.
A gazetted Quality Assurance Committee is approved by the Minister of Health and then submitted to the Governor in Council for final approval.
Guidelines and application forms can be obtained from Quality-Assurance-Committee@health.qld.gov.au .
Legislation relevant to Quality Assurance committees is contained in sections 30 – 38 and 63 in the Health Services Act 1991 and the Health Services Legislation Amendment Regulation 2001.
The Freedom of Information Act 1992 [pursuant to section 11(1)(q)] does not apply to a committee declared to be an approved quality assurance committee under the Health Services Act 1991, section 31 (1).
The purpose of the protection is to allow health practitioners to engage in frank and open discussion and undertake objective appraisal for the information collected for the purpose of the approved committee.
This means that the information, which may be relevant to litigation and which there would normally be an obligation to provide, can be withheld from discovery in legal proceedings and is inadmissible as evidence in court proceedings. In addition a recommendation, by a committee declared pursuant to the Act, can not be used as evidence of negligence.
The granting of statutory protection is a privilege and comes with obligations and responsibilities.
Consideration should be given to the sensitivity of the material gathered for the committee as not all quality assurance committees will benefit from statutory protection.
The functions of the committee must include all of the following:
The committee must justify how the functions of the committee will be facilitated by the protection afforded by this legislation.
The committee must justify how the public interest would be serviced by restriction of the information compiled by the committee in the course of exercising its functions.
The committee must be established under a resolution or in accordance with the rules or official procedures of the entity.
This process provides some assurance to consumers that services are constantly under review and strategies are implemented to improve performance and outcomes.
The members of the committee must be appropriately trained and have the necessary experience to assess and evaluate the health services as defined in the terms of the reference of the committee.
Quality assurance committees are obliged to conduct meetings and collect and maintain information according to the regulations, and must have a documented privacy policy.
A report of the committee’s activities must be provided to the Senior Director, Clinical Practice Improvement Centre every three years, who will then forward the report to the Health Minister.
The Clinical Practice Improvement Centre will undertake the administrative processes associated with the application. When all the relevant information has been received the application will be forwarded to the Minister for the final assessment. If the Minister is satisfied that all requirements have been met the application is submitted to the Governor in Council for approval.
When all the processes have been completed notification will be made in the Government Gazette.
Guidelines and application forms can be obtained from Quality-Assurance-Committee@health.qld.gov.au
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