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Section 47 of the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 authorises the Chief Executive of the Department of Health to issue Health Service Directives to Hospital and Health Services. Health Service Directives may be issued for the purposes of:
Health Service Directives are brief and focussed on specific requirements of, or outcomes to be achieved by, Hospital and Health Services.
Section 48 of the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 commences on 1 September 2012 and requires that consultation be conducted with Hospital and Health Services in the development of a Health Service Directive. For the initial Health Service Directives developed prior to this, consultation with Hospital and Health Services is not required.
Section 49 of the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 requires that Health Service Directives are published in a way that is accessible to the public. All Health Service Directives are published on the internet.
Section 51 of the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 requires that Health Service Directives are reviewed within three years of being issued. The initial Health Service Directives will be reviewed within two years (by 30 June 2014), a year earlier than the Act provides.
A Health Service Directive Policy and Implementation Standards have been developed to ensure Health Service Directives are developed in a standardised, high quality and legislatively compliant manner. For Queensland Health staff involved in developing Health Service Directives, these policy documents describe a systematic and mandatory process for developing, approving, publishing and reviewing Health Service Directives.
Additionally, Queensland Health staff involved in drafting a directive may refer to the Health Service Directives intranet site for additional information and relevant procedures and templates to guide the development of a directive.
If you are looking for policies and policy-related documents, please check the Queensland Health Policy Site
