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As a transitional arrangement, a number of Queensland Health policies and protocols have been identified to “roll-over” to apply to Hospital and Health Services, as a mandatory requirement, until 30 June 2013. These policies will be reviewed during 2012-2013 in consultation with Hospital and Health Services as to whether they need to become, or inform the development of, a Health Service Directive.
A number of Queensland Health policies and protocols will not apply to Hospital and Health Services. The “Scope” section of these documents has been modified to reflect this non-mandatory application.
Hospital and Health Services are not mandated by the system manager to comply with Queensland Health implementation standards, procedures and guidelines published on the policy site. However, these documents will remain published to support best practice and business continuity.
Human resource and occupational health and safety associated policy documents (implementation standards, procedures and protocols) are mandatory documents and continue to apply to Hospital and Health Services.
The Policy Management Policy and Implementation Standard provide clear direction for policy development and support the management of policy through the policy cycle.
The Policy Management Policy promotes a consistent and rigorous approach to policy development; effective implementation; clear communication of requirements, responsibilities and accountabilities; and regular review of the effectiveness of policy in achieving its intended outcomes.
A suite of templates (QHEPS access required) has been developed to support policy development and management. The Queensland Health Policy Register (QHEPS access required) and Queensland Health Policy Site have been developed to support the management of Queensland Health policy.
The key documents for policy management are:
| Policy – a policy is a document that sets out Queensland Health’s intent to achieve a particular outcome. Compliance with policy is mandatory for all Queensland Health staff covered in its scope. From 1 July 2012, some policies will not be mandatory for Hospital and Health Services. These are identified by reference to their scope | |
| Implementation Standard – a document that describes the minimum recommended actions required to comply with a policy and identifies responsibilities for staff. | |
| Protocol – a document containing specific guidelines, expected to be followed in detail with little scope for variation. Protocols are mandatory for all Queensland Health staff including those employed in Hospital and Health Services. | |
| Procedure – a recommended set of practices – generally sequential – developed to support consistency and quality in the performance of an activity or delivery of a service across more than one work unit. | |
| Guideline – provides advice on best practice and is intended to support decision making. | |
| Work Instructions - procedures, protocols or guidelines which apply only to the staff within a particular work unit. |
All human resource (HR) policies and occupational health and safety (OHS) policies, implementation standards, protocols and procedures are mandatory documents and continue to apply to Hospital and Health Services from 1 July 2012.
HR policies apply to employees of the Director-General, including health service employees and other persons as indicated in the policy, working in the department or working in and for a Hospital and Health Service. Human resource policies are currently identified by the "Human Resources Policy" title under the policy title within the document.
OHS policies enable Queensland Health to meet its obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. OHS policies apply to all employees of the Director-General, including those working within health services, and other persons as indicated in the policy. OHS policies and policy documents are identified by the title description and/or by a document unique identifier number (DUI) between QH-274 and QH-277. The DUI is found on the top right hand corner of the document.
A full list of HR and OHS policies and associated policy documents can also be found on:
This site contains an alphabetical listing of all Queensland Health policy and policy-related documents.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | XYZ
If you are looking for Health Service Directives, please check the Health Service Directives site
