DHF Annual Report 2009 - NT Health Digital Library - Northern ...
DHF Annual Report 2009 - NT Health Digital Library - Northern ... DHF Annual Report 2009 - NT Health Digital Library - Northern ...
Safety, Quality and AccountabilityOptimising safety and quality is the essentialfoundation for the effective delivery of servicestargeting the health, community wellbeing andsocial advancement of all Territorians. TheDepartment is committed to developing anddelivering a system of services that is underpinnedby cultural security, safety and quality which isaccountable in a meaningful way to the community.This applies to the whole Departmental workforceand the services they deliver, including thoseservices provided through agreements with thenon-government sector.We delivered in 2009-10We have collaborated with relevant agenciesto ensure that health and family servicesneeds are appropriately included in theplanning and implementation of TerritoryGrowth Town initiatives.Key focus areasDemonstrating our organisation’s commitment to achievingculturally secure services through implementing andmonitoring effective organisational, system-wide and staffimplemented practices.Establishing a Safety and Quality Framework consistentwith the national reform agenda, which is based on theimperative to improve care and service delivery andthereby reduce harm. The major tools of safety andquality-driven reform are derived from new understandingsof incident analysis, business improvement practice andchange management.Developing and employing research, knowledge exchangeprocesses, performance monitoring and reporting to informand continuously improve both planning and practices.Northern Territory Aboriginal Health Forum partners have developed a Framework that establishes aplatform for greater levels of community involvement and engagement in the design, development andimplementation of health services to Aboriginal Territorians.Five Regional Cultural Security Negotiation Sessions across the Department and about 50 CommunityConsultations were concluded. The information gathered is being used to build a program of reform thattackles and prioritises those issues to be integrated with our service delivery.The Department is leading a joint National Advisory Group on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HealthNetwork (NATSIHON) project that will develop a consolidated set of core measures of Cultural Competencein health and wellbeing service delivery at the organisational, systemic and individual staff levels.The Department of Health and Families, the Department of Business and Employment and the Graduate‘Aboriginal Cross Cultural Training in the Northern Territory Public Service’. New training courses based onthis work have been established and offered to the Northern Territory Public Service.The draft Departmental Safety and Quality Framework is in the consultation process.The Principal Safety and Quality Committee (PSQC) with Departmental-wide Executive membership thatoperates to advise on Territory and national safety and quality initiatives has been established.The Safety and Quality Advisory Service was established to provide PSQC with technical and logisticalsupport in introducing Departmental strategies to align with national safety and quality standards.Safety and quality induction information sessions were provided to 200 clinical staff through the Department’sstaff orientation program.The Departmental Risk Management Policy has been updated and a Risk Management Frameworkdeveloped and implemented. All divisions now have a risk management assessment related to theirbusiness plans. The RiskMan software program, facilitating the recording of risks and risk management,has been implemented in most hospitals and in Mental Health and planning has commenced to introducethis program across the Department.The Northern Territory Public Hospital Network implemented the Australian Charter of HealthcareRights devised by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare in 2009. The Charterdescribes the rights of patients and other people using the Australian health system. These rights are42Department Health and Families
essential to make sure that, wherever and whenever care is provided, it is of high quality and is safe.The Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights is now on display in all Northern Territory public hospitalsand pamphlets are available in clinical areas. These resources are available in many languages. The initial Report on the Implementation of the Nursing Hours Per Patient Day Management Tool for Nursing implemented at Royal Darwin Hospital. The model has had a positive impact on recruitment of nursing staffwith wards staffed to meet patient acuity. The implementation of the recommendations of the Sullivan Report on the Review of Hospital SecuritySystems, Royal Darwin Hospital has improved paediatric procedures and training, improved security The Report on the Governance of Complaint Handling and Implementation of Open Disclosure at Royal Disclosure Standard will be implemented during 2010. Implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Review of Governance Arrangements at RoyalDarwin Hospital by the Australian Council of Healthcare Standards has led to improvements to the Hospital’spolicy framework, practices supporting clinical governance and the structural relationships betweencorporate and clinical governance within the Hospital and between the Hospital and the Department ofHealth and Families. In 2009-10 the Department supported 44 new, 41 on going and 15 completed research projects at MenziesSchool of Health Research. Remote Health made a major contribution to the writing and editing of the Central Australian RuralPractitioners Association (CARPA) Standard Treatment Manual in 2009. This has now been distributed. The Best Practice Committee reviews remote clinical protocols or guidelines on an ongoing basis and 15were updated as a result of this process in 2009-10. The NT Aboriginal Health Forum Key Performance Indicators were implemented in both the Departmentand Aboriginal community controlled health centres across the Territory. In April 2010, the Living Knowledge Learning Network Workshops were piloted in Nhulunbuy, Alice Springs,Katherine, Tennant Creek and Darwin and evaluated as successfully promoting the transfer of knowledgeand research, and encouraging a proactive research agenda within the agency. Seven Living Knowledgeseminars were held in Darwin and eight Living Knowledge bulletins sharing knowledge with managers andpolicy makers were circulated. Health Library Services expanded the Clinical Practice Guideline Quality Improvement Program whichincluded the roll out of a web based document management system which provides access to over 1500clinical guidelines online. Health Library Services expanded the availability of on-line point of care resources assisting doctors,clinicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals with the best available evidence-based clinicalreference tools for their information needs. Health Library Services developedeLibGuides, assisting Departmental staffto better access online library resources inareas such as Aboriginal health, dietetics Health Library Services is modellingand developing a training and educationspace in consultation with Departmentstakeholders to provide an eLearningLibrary for the whole of the Department,supporting staff development, researchand education.Department Health and Families 43
- Page 2: Visit the department’s website at
- Page 8 and 9: Chief Executive ForewordChief Execu
- Page 10 and 11: 10Department Health and Families
- Page 12 and 13: Dr Barbara PatersonCorporate Plan P
- Page 14 and 15: Peter BeirneCorporate Plan Priority
- Page 16: In comparing data between 1994-98 a
- Page 19 and 20: Aboriginal Health and FamiliesProf.
- Page 21: Corporate Plan 2009 - 2012Vision, M
- Page 25 and 26: to detect, monitor, report and eval
- Page 27 and 28: PRIORITY ACTION AREA 2Healthy Child
- Page 29 and 30: to parents at key ages i.e. exclusi
- Page 31 and 32: PRIORITY ACTION AREA 3Targeting Smo
- Page 33 and 34: the health effects of smoking from
- Page 35 and 36: PRIORITY ACTION AREA 4Connecting Ca
- Page 37 and 38: The Chief Minister’s Youth Round
- Page 39 and 40: Created four additional positions i
- Page 41: PRIORITY ACTION AREA 5Safety, Quali
- Page 45 and 46: PRIORITY ACTION AREA 6Attract, Deve
- Page 47 and 48: Established an Indigenous Nursing a
- Page 49 and 50: Implement the Professional Practice
- Page 51 and 52: The Integrated Maternity Services C
- Page 53 and 54: Radiation Oncology Services
- Page 55 and 56: Service Map DetailsDepartment Healt
- Page 57 and 58: NT HEALTH FACILITIESDEPARTMENT OF H
- Page 59 and 60: Through the East Arnhem Regionalisa
- Page 61 and 62: very effective with the Alice Sprin
- Page 63 and 64: Across the TerritoryDigital Regions
- Page 65 and 66: Our PeopleDepartment Health and Fam
- Page 67 and 68: Snapshot of our peopleFigure 1 show
- Page 69 and 70: National Indigenous Cadetship Progr
- Page 71 and 72: Supporting our PeopleHuman Resource
- Page 73 and 74: Managing AggressionAggression Manag
- Page 75 and 76: Eliminating bullying and harassment
- Page 77 and 78: Graduate ProgramThe Department has
- Page 79 and 80: GovernanceDepartment Health and Fam
- Page 81 and 82: NT Family & ChildrenAdvisory Counci
- Page 83 and 84: Royal Darwin Hospital Medical Evacu
- Page 85 and 86: Coronial FindingsThe Coroners Act e
- Page 87 and 88: NTFC options for a complaint outcom
- Page 89 and 90: Sentinel Eventsdeath or serious har
- Page 91 and 92: Human Research Ethics CommitteeThe
Safety, Quality and AccountabilityOptimising safety and quality is the essentialfoundation for the effective delivery of servicestargeting the health, community wellbeing andsocial advancement of all Territorians. TheDepartment is committed to developing anddelivering a system of services that is underpinnedby cultural security, safety and quality which isaccountable in a meaningful way to the community.This applies to the whole Departmental workforceand the services they deliver, including thoseservices provided through agreements with thenon-government sector.We delivered in <strong>2009</strong>-10We have collaborated with relevant agenciesto ensure that health and family servicesneeds are appropriately included in theplanning and implementation of TerritoryGrowth Town initiatives.Key focus areasDemonstrating our organisation’s commitment to achievingculturally secure services through implementing andmonitoring effective organisational, system-wide and staffimplemented practices.Establishing a Safety and Quality Framework consistentwith the national reform agenda, which is based on theimperative to improve care and service delivery andthereby reduce harm. The major tools of safety andquality-driven reform are derived from new understandingsof incident analysis, business improvement practice andchange management.Developing and employing research, knowledge exchangeprocesses, performance monitoring and reporting to informand continuously improve both planning and practices.<strong>Northern</strong> Territory Aboriginal <strong>Health</strong> Forum partners have developed a Framework that establishes aplatform for greater levels of community involvement and engagement in the design, development andimplementation of health services to Aboriginal Territorians.Five Regional Cultural Security Negotiation Sessions across the Department and about 50 CommunityConsultations were concluded. The information gathered is being used to build a program of reform thattackles and prioritises those issues to be integrated with our service delivery.The Department is leading a joint National Advisory Group on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander <strong>Health</strong>Network (NATSIHON) project that will develop a consolidated set of core measures of Cultural Competencein health and wellbeing service delivery at the organisational, systemic and individual staff levels.The Department of <strong>Health</strong> and Families, the Department of Business and Employment and the Graduate‘Aboriginal Cross Cultural Training in the <strong>Northern</strong> Territory Public Service’. New training courses based onthis work have been established and offered to the <strong>Northern</strong> Territory Public Service.The draft Departmental Safety and Quality Framework is in the consultation process.The Principal Safety and Quality Committee (PSQC) with Departmental-wide Executive membership thatoperates to advise on Territory and national safety and quality initiatives has been established.The Safety and Quality Advisory Service was established to provide PSQC with technical and logisticalsupport in introducing Departmental strategies to align with national safety and quality standards.Safety and quality induction information sessions were provided to 200 clinical staff through the Department’sstaff orientation program.The Departmental Risk Management Policy has been updated and a Risk Management Frameworkdeveloped and implemented. All divisions now have a risk management assessment related to theirbusiness plans. The RiskMan software program, facilitating the recording of risks and risk management,has been implemented in most hospitals and in Mental <strong>Health</strong> and planning has commenced to introducethis program across the Department.The <strong>Northern</strong> Territory Public Hospital Network implemented the Australian Charter of <strong>Health</strong>careRights devised by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in <strong>Health</strong>care in <strong>2009</strong>. The Charterdescribes the rights of patients and other people using the Australian health system. These rights are42Department <strong>Health</strong> and Families