Service Improvement

Phone:	9845 3442
Fax:	9845 1007
Email:	siu@chw.edu.au
Location:	Main building, level 3 (block 6, near Clancy Ward)

The Service Improvement Unit (SIU) has been established to bring together services responsible for driving continuous improvement across The Children's Hospital at Westmead to ensure the provision of excellence in child health care.

In particular the team is responsible for clinical review, complaint management, patient liaison, accreditation and overall service improvement initiatives within the Hospital.

Roles:

• Education and support for continuous improvement
• Review of Hospital systems operation
• Service improvement
• Clinical review
• Clinical practice improvement
• Consumer participation
• Patient liaison
• Project management
• Complaint management and feedback coordination
• Accreditation coordination
• Resource development
• Benchmarking activities
• Policy, Procedure and Guideline coordination

In summary, the Service Improvement Unit's role is to coordinate improvement efforts across all areas of the Hospital to ensure that we are providing the highest quality of care possible.

Vision

To establish a culture of seeking excellence through continuous improvement at The Children's Hospital at Westmead.

Mission

To provide leadership in and education and support for continuous improvement for all staff at the Hospital and to facilitate the pursuit of Excellence in Child Health Care.

Core Values

Commitment to the organisational vision.
Accountability to each other, our customers and to the Hospital.
Respect for one another and for the families within our care.
Excellence in our individual and corporate roles.
Service to the organisation, the community and external agencies.

See also the Hospital's Vision and Mission statements and Code of Conduct.

Goals

1. To embed continuous improvement practices into everyday work throughout the Hospital by increasing the understanding of and enthusiasm for continuous improvement. This will also lead to the achievement of a safe and just culture in the Hospital.
2. To achieve a high level of meaningful and appropriate consumer involvement at the Hospital and consolidating existing partnerships and identifying new opportunities for partnerships. The value of consumer involvement in service planning and delivery will be widely recognised.
3. To become respected as a leader in the application of Continuous Improvement in a healthcare setting.

Key Activities to Support SIU Goals

• Ask our patients, families and others who use our services what we do well and what we could improve and, most importantly, have a system in place where this information is used to continuously improve services (both clinical and corporate).
• Systematically review our clinical care to ensure it is based on the latest and best evidence available.
• Collect data or information that measures how we are performing in all areas of care - with particular attention to the six domains of quality, which are:
1. Safety
2. Appropriateness
3. Effectiveness
4. Consumer participation
5. Efficiency
6. Access
• Collect, review and evaluate information to identify improvement opportunities and act using this information.
• Benchmark this information with other Areas and organisations that are providing care to children to learn, collaborate and improve what we do and how we do it.
• Contribute to the State, National and International efforts at improving the health care of children.
• To be accredited by an independent and external organisation.
• Constantly update the information and information systems we are using to ensure we are identifying all opportunities for improvement.
• Have a robust planning and improvement process that is clearly documented and relevant at all levels of the organisation.

Useful Links

• The Institute for Healthcare Improvement
• NSW Health Quality Branch
• NSW Service Principles and Obligations

Staff

• Elizabeth Harnett, Service Improvement Coordinator (Department Head)
• Ahmed Jamal, Clinical Practice Improvement Coordinator
• Gabrielle O'Grady, Clinical Practice Improvement Project Officer
• Betty Radcliffe, Patients' Friend
• Katherine Stone, Carer Support Program Coordinator
• Joyce Murphy, Consumer Participation Coordinator
• Kay Babalis, Improvement Coordinator
• Karen Steinhoff, Service Improvement Project Officer
• Raymond Chaseling, Clinical Risk Manager
• Chrissy Ceely, Patient Safety Manager
• Karyn Paull, IIMS Manager
• Shirley Warren, Policy and Procedure Coordinator
• Rachael Grayson, Norma Wilson and Loan Lam, Administration Assistants

Senior Complaints Officer

Dr Stuart Dorney, Director of Clinical Governance and Medicine
Phone: (02) 9845 3475