Patient safety and quality are at the heart of the delivery of health care. For every patient, client, carer, family member and health care professional, safety is pivotal throughout the care journey. For all who work in the health system there is a commitment to the values of care, compassion, trust and learning (HSE, 2017) that contributes to enhancing and enabling excellence in the standard of care provision. A sustained commitment to continuous improvement is required from everyone involved in the health and personal social care system.
Across the world it is well recognised that measurement and monitoring of the quality of care delivery is integral to raising and maintaining care standards. In June 2018, the HSE Office of Nursing & Midwifery Services (ONMSD) completed pioneering work, entitled Quality Care-Metrics that consists of a robust framework of care process metrics and indicators to support nurses and midwives to engage in measurement and monitoring that leads to safer care. A robust suite of care process metrics and indicators, sensitive to the influences of nurses and midwives working in the areas of mental health, intellectual disability, older persons, children's, public health nursing, midwifery and acute care are available for use. These metrics and indicators when measured and monitored in clinical practice, provide an indication of the quality of care delivery aligned to evidenced based standards, procedures and guidelines, enabling the development of action planning for improvement.
To further support nurses and midwives and to ensure a standardised approach to Quality Care-Metrics implementation in clinical practice, seven guideline documents were approved in December 2018 and are available on the ONMSD website: www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/onmsd/safecare/qcm/qcm-pppgs.html
Additional information and learning resources can also be accessed on the Quality Care-Metrics hub on HSELanD: http://qcmhub.hseland.ie/
Most health care systems would agree that the destination to higher quality safer care is to deliver been outcomes for service users. The route to this destination is to have the right metrics and indicators. The ONMSD have ensured that the voice of both service users and the consensus of nurses and midwives were central to determining the Quality Care-Metrics that truly matter.
Should you wish to roll out Quality Care-Metrics in your practice area support is available through the regional Nursing and Midwifery Planning and Development Units.
NMPDU QCM Contact Persons
Health Service Executive (2017) HSE Corporate Plan 2015-2017. Available at: https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/our-health-service/values-in-action/
