Written Answers. - Hospital Services.
Bernard Allen
Question:
170
Mr. Allen
asked the
Minister for Health and Children
if his Department has received complaints regarding the implementation of the charter of rights for hospital patients - 1994; and, if so, the way in which his Department has responded to them.
[12568/03]
The patients' charter was published in 1992 to provide guidelines for good standards of practice in acute hospitals. Its objective was to ensure that the health service is responsive to the needs of the individual patients and that there is a code of practice in place which sets out what patients have a right to expect when they make use of hospital services. Implementation of the standards specified in the patients' charter is a matter for individual hospital management and my Department has not received any significant level of complaints in this respect.
Quality is one of the four main principles underlying the National Health Strategy, Quality and Fairness – A Health System for You. In 2002, in line with the commitment given in the strategy, I established the Irish Health Services Accreditation Board. Accreditation is an internationally recognised process which combines self-assessment and external peer review of an organisation's performance against a series of pre-determined standards. The objective is to encourage health agencies to focus on ways to continuously improve the health care delivery system. The Irish scheme is designed to be patient-focused, promote continuous quality improvement and safety, and to be independent, voluntary, authoritative and achieve international recognition. Already, the board has completed surveys in six of the major academic teaching hospitals and a total of nineteen hospitals have applied for accreditation. I am confident that the scheme will lead to real and measurable improvement in standards across the hospital system.
The health strategy also identified the need for healthcare providers to put the patient at the centre in the delivery of care and to take into account patients' views about the care they receive. The results of the recently published national patient perception of the quality of healthcare survey by the Irish Society for Quality and Safety in Healthcare demonstrate that patients perceive the quality of care and service received in acute hospitals to be very high. Some 92% of patients reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the overall quality of care which they received during their stay in hospital.
Bernard Allen
Question:
171
Mr. Allen
asked the
Minister for Health and Children
if his Department has been in contact with any of the national acute hospitals regarding the implementation of the charter of rights for hospital patients; and if so, the reasons therefor.
[12569/03]
The patients' charter was published in 1992 to provide guidelines for good standards of practice in acute hospitals. Its objective was to ensure that the health service is responsive to the needs of the individual patients and that there is a code of practice in place which sets-out what patients have a right to expect when they make use of hospital services. Implementation of the standards specified in the patients' charter is a matter for individual hospital management and my Department has not received any significant level of complaints in this respect.
Quality is one of the four main principles underlying the national health strategy, Quality and Fairness – A Health System for You. In 2002, in line with the commitment given in the strategy, I established the Irish Health Services Accreditation Board. Accreditation is an internationally recognised process which combines self-assessment and external peer review of an organisation's performance against a series of pre-determined standards. The objective is to encourage health agencies to focus on ways to continuously improve the health care delivery system. The Irish scheme is designed to be patient-focused, promote continual quality improvement and safety, and to be independent, voluntary, authoritative and achieve international recognition. Already, the board has completed surveys in six of the major academic teaching hospitals and a total of nineteen hospitals have applied for accreditation. I am confident that the scheme will lead to real and measurable improvement in standards across the hospital system.
The health strategy also identified the need for healthcare providers to put the patient at the centre in the delivery of care and to take into account patients' views about the care they receive. The results of the recently published national patient perception of the quality of healthcare survey by the Irish Society for Quality and Safety in Healthcare demonstrate that patients perceive the quality of care and service received in acute hospitals to be very high. Some 92% of patients reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the overall quality of care which they received during their stay in hospital.
