Our quality is in fine health

There are few things in the life of a hospital CEO as satisfying as having independent accreditation auditors pop by to tell you that your hospital has passed the stringent assessment with flying colours.

I experienced that pleasure just a few days back when the two interstate people in question stepped into my office following their exhaustive assessment of North Eastern Community Hospital against the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) standards to congratulate me on our outstanding result and advise that the detailed report will follow in the coming weeks.

I am so proud of our managers and their teams who spent the past 12 months preparing for the assessment and went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure we again achieved a stellar outcome. Special praise goes to our Director of Nursing and quality guru Annette Nelson, who has worked tirelessly and diligently to ensure we remain up with the very best when it comes to quality healthcare.

It is also most satisfying as the accreditation – we at NECH use the internationally recognised quality management system, ISO9001 – is an important tick of approval from our peers.

It tells us and all who interact with the hospital that we are a respected organisation where the public are protected from harm. It also celebrates our innovation and commitment to continuously strive to find even better ways and further improve our already high quality of healthcare.

Furthermore, the accreditation contributes to the increased confidence and faith of those in our hospital as it ensures that we always function in the best interests of all patients. And, of course, it confirms that NECH not only performs evidence-based practices but also give importance to access, affordability, efficiency, quality and effectiveness of healthcare.

Our outstanding accreditation result, achieved over two days of assessment on 30 April and 1 May, vindicates our longstanding NECH commitment to putting the patient in the centre of everything we do.

Still on the subject of quality care, it is opportune that our assessment result was delivered just days ahead of the International Day of the Midwife, celebrated each year on 5 May… and this year adopting the ‘Midwives Leading the Way With Quality Care’ theme.

The day, established some 25 years ago by the International Council for Midwives to recognise and champion the invaluable work of the profession in our society, also provides all midwives with the opportunity to think about their many colleagues, to make new contacts within and outside midwifery and to widen the knowledge of what midwives do for the world.

I am personally very proud to be leading an organisation that so passionately upholds the commitment to place the patient in the centre of everything we do – and that has some of the very best midwives the world can offer.