0716 - implementing NSQHS standards - AHF

Question 1

What does NSQHS stand for?

Answer 1

National safety and quality health service

Question 2

What is the aim of the NSQHS standards?

Answer 2

To provide a nationally consistent and uniform set of measures of safety and quality for application across a wide variety of health care services.

Question 3

What are the NSQHS standards?

Answer 3

• minimum standards that acute health care services must meet, about:
  1. governance for safety and quality in health service organisations
  2. partnering with consumers (i.e. Px is a partner in their healthcare)
  3. healthcare associated infections (e.g. 5 moments of hand washing)
  4. medication safety (systems in place for prescriptions, administration etc.)
  5. patient identification and procedure matching
  6. clinical handover
  7. blood and blood products
  8. preventing and managing pressure injuries
  9. recognising and responding to clinical deterioration in acute health care
  10. preventing falls and harm from falls
• standards 1 and 2 set up the rest of the standards (3 - 10 are clinical-based)
• standard 3 is problem the greatest problem

Question 4

Why have these 10 standards been chosen?

Answer 4

After evaluation of the international and national evidence, they were highlighted that addressing them would improve patient care.

Question 5

What were the criteria for the development for the development of the NSQHS standards?

Answer 5

• impact a large number of patients
• known gaps between the current situation and best practice
• improvement strategies exists which are evidence-based and achievable

Question 6

When were the NSQHS standards made mandatory for acute high risk health care services?

Answer 6

January 2013; accreditation against the 10 NSQHS standards is now mandatory.

Question 7

Outline the difference between core and developmental actions.

Answer 7

Core: critical for safety and quality; must be met

Developmental: aspirational, do not need to be met, but need to show that working towards them

Question 8

What are the ratings for the actions?

Answer 8

• not met
• satisfactorily met
• met with merit

Question 9

Each national standard has a group comprising:

Answer 9

• consumer
• senior nurse/allied health
• medical/nurse practitioner
• executive sponsor

Question 10

What is patient-centred care?

Answer 10

• patient is involved in their health care
• healthcare system fits into patient needs (as much as possible), as opposed to vice versa