Bay of Plenty DHB gains quality award

11 May 2005

Bay of Plenty District Health Board gains quality award

The high standard of service provided by Bay of Plenty District Health Board's provider arm Pacific Health, incorporating Tauranga and Whakatane Hospitals and community services, has been recognised by the Quality Health New Zealand accreditation award.

The award, which recognises the quality of healthcare delivered and a commitment to continuous improvement, was formally presented at ceremonies held at Tauranga and Whakatane hospitals earlier this month.

Chair of the Bay of Plenty District Health Board, Mary Hackett, says that management and staff of Pacific Health are to be congratulated for an outstanding effort in gaining accreditation.

"The community can feel confident that this health service is providing excellent standards of service and safe care to its clients," says Ms Hackett.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board Chief Executive, Ron Dunham, says that the management team decided to aim for accreditation as a way of managing risk and to give the organisation a focus on quality.

"Accreditation involves evaluation of all aspects of an organisation's performance against contemporary standards of client rights, healthcare, management and safety by a team of health professional surveyors. It encourages us to maintain an ongoing commitment to quality. This leads to a higher standard of care for our clients, improved job satisfaction for our staff, and increased efficiency and effectiveness of the service," says Mr Dunham.

Quality Health New Zealand is an independent non-profit organisation formed in 1990, with the objective of upgrading the standard of public and private hospitals and health services in New Zealand. It has developed national quality standards for clinical, management and quality improvement systems, against which a health service is evaluated.

Accreditation surveyors examine the consumer focus and cultural appropriateness of services; the multi-disciplinary treatment and care of clients; management and clinical systems; the safety of services, personnel and facilities; the teamwork, leadership and governance in the organisation; and the commitment to continuous quality improvement.

To be accredited, a health service must measure up against the standards and demonstrate its commitment to quality.

"The fact that Pacific Health has achieved Quality Health New Zealand accreditation is tangible proof that our standards are high indeed, which must, of course, be a great comfort of our clients and their friends and family," says Mr Dunham.

ENDS

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