Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 October 2020
744. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health if he will request the HSE to include data on all adverse outcomes specific to medication used in the provision of termination of pregnancy services in the annual national healthcare quality reporting system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28742/20]
View answerThe National Healthcare Quality Reporting System (NHQRS) aims to provide a mechanism through which data about the quality of Ireland's healthcare structures, processes and outcomes can be made publicly available so that this data may be compared against accepted standards or best practices. The reporting of performance and outcome indicators is designed to enable policy makers and service providers to improve the quality of health service provision. Indicators are presented to allow for comparisons between regions, nationally, internationally and over time.
The NHRQS annual report is published by the Department of Health. Five reports have been published to date and the reports have evolved over time, including additional indicators as datasets within the Irish health service mature and become available.
The NHQRS and its governance structure is based in the National Patient Safety Office (NPSO) in the Department for Health. In 2016, a multi-agency committee was re-established to provide oversight and advice on the strategic direction of the NHQRS; to agree the selected indicators in line with international trends and health policy in Ireland; to agree definitions and metadata for the indicators; and to prepare and present an annual report to the Minister for Health.
To safeguard the integrity and validity of the NHQRS, the committee agreed a procedure for the selection of new indicators for inclusion in the report. In addition, a transparent annual screening exercise facilitates consideration of those indicators to be retained or de-selected in future editions of the NHQRS. This exercise is designed to ensure the validity, timeliness and accuracy of indicator data and allow for the identification of gaps to ensure that the NHQRS reflects developments in our health system over time. In addition, each year all indicators are evaluated for the quality of the data available. This evaluation process is informed by HIQA's Guidance on a data quality framework for health and social care.
NHQRS indicators are generally high-level measurements relating to healthcare system performance, which can provide information on population health overall rather than on specific outcomes for individual patients. The NHQRS does not currently, as the Deputy noted, report on adverse outcomes specific to medication used in the provision of termination of pregnancy services. The inclusion of any new indicator is considered by the multi-agency committee using a standardised process which examines the evidence regarding international trends, health policy in Ireland and availability of robust data.
