Patient safety and quality information
The following key patient safety and quality resources may assist hospital and health boards (HHBs) in fulfilling their safety and quality obligations.
Patient Safety Health Service Directive
The Patient Safety Health Service Directive specifies the mandatory requirements for monitoring, reporting and response requirements of HHSs for:
- clinical incident management
- congenital syphilis analysis and management
- variable life adjusted display and other national patient safety indicators
- patient safety alerts and notifications
- Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Services Quality Framework
- Clinical Services Capability Framework
- accreditation
- obtaining informed consent for health care procedures or treatment.
Patient Safety and Quality Board Committee simulation training
The Safety and Quality Committee Simulation Workshop (simulation workshop) is designed to replicate a board safety and quality committee. The training consolidates the current experience and skills of board members, and enables a safety and quality committee to robustly fulfill their regulatory functions.
The simulation workshop is available to:
- new HHB members
- recently appointed members with limited experience in safety and quality requirements
- existing members
- HHS Chief Executives
- Directors of Clinical Governance
- HHS executives.
For further information on this training package, please email PSQ_Comms@health.qld.gov.au.
Patient Safety and Quality Podcast
Safety and quality is it at the forefront of patient care, but with so much information where do you start? The Patient Safety and Quality Podcast has been developed to enable Queensland Health staff and hospital and health board members to listen to easily digestible conversations between guest speakers on patient safety and quality topics. These episodes include:
- 'Board safety and quality committees'
- 'Accreditation'
- 'Clinical incident management'
- 'Health service investigations and clinical reviews' (coming February 2025)
- 'Office of the Health Ombudsman'
- 'Coronial management'.
You can listen to this podcast via:
Queensland Health resources
Additional resources relevant to safety and quality that may assist hospital and health boards.
Factsheets for boards
- Glossary or common Patient Safety and Quality terms for HHBs – factsheet (PDF 305 kB)
- Clinical incident management factsheet 11: Key information for board directors and executive (PDF 215 kB)
External resources
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (Commission )
The Commission has an extensive library of publications and resources to assist members of governing bodies in exercising their governance responsibilities under the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards.
- NSQHS Standards User guide for governing bodies
- NSQHS Standards Roles and responsibilities for governing bodies
- NSQHS Standards Checklist for assessors - Reviewing information accessed and actioned by the governing body
The Institute of Healthcare Improvement
The Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) resources, including the White Paper: Framework for Effective Board Governance of Health, outline practical clinical governance activities for boards. These resources aim to reduce variation and clarify responsibilities for quality oversight, in a way that will deliver better care to patients and communities.