Gisborne Hospital Report - Health and Disability Commissioner

Gisborne Hospital 1999 – 2000
Recommendations
25. Each area should receive regular (eg, monthly) reports on incidents occurring in
their area (including trends); such reports should be discussed at a staff meeting
and action plans implemented as appropriate.
26. Clinical leaders/line managers should monitor repeated incidents involving the
same individual.
27. A clear statement should be made to staff at all levels describing types of incident
that require immediate notification to the line manager.
28. The recommendations in the Medical Practitioners Quality Assurance Activity:
Tairawhiti Notice 1998 related to incidents should be implemented consistently.
29. The findings of the Health Funding Authority audit (31 August 1999) should be
reviewed to identify any outstanding areas still to be addressed.
30. Complaints offer a provider organisation the opportunity to understand the needs
of the consumer and in so doing to enhance the level of service, trust and
connection between the organisation and its community. This is especially true
for public hospitals. Wherever possible, complaints should be resolved face-toface,
and followed up by letter.
31. The complaints system at Tairawhiti District Health will be enhanced by an
effective and fully operational database.
32. There is a need to link complaints data to risk management processes and
educational processes at Tairawhiti District Health.
33. If Group Managers and service managers are to be responsible for managing the
complaints in their areas, there is also a need to train them in conflict resolution
and the management of complaints.
34. As an alternative to recommendation 33, the Quality Co-ordinator, as the person
at Tairawhiti District Health with overall responsibility for managing complaints,
needs to be adequately resourced.
PSA Testing Procedures
1. There should be sufficient staff numbers within the section not only to handle the
daily workload, but also to allow sufficient time to enable staff to undergo
continuing practical training sessions, attend regular section meetings, attend
user group meetings to discuss quality issues, keep method documentation and
quality manuals up to date, and carry out any other activities to assure the quality
of the service being provided by the biochemistry section of the laboratory.
Quality is not an “add on”, to be attended to when time permits. True quality is
integral to a safe and effective service for consumers.
2. Responsibility for the technical aspects of these tasks should not be delegated to
administrative staff.
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