Clinical Quality and Safety 

Our Performance in Clinical Safety and Quality

Ramsay Health Care's performance in patient safety and quality care is the highest priority for us as an organisation. We use clinical and patient experience data to identify high performance, evaluate how reliable and consistent patient experiences are, to reduce unwarranted variation and to drive opportunities for improvement. We translate clinical data into current outcomes, trends over time and evaluate improvement opportunities. Most importantly we are transparent and strive to provide you the patient with the information you need to make an informed decision that is right for you.

In order to measure our performance and truly know how our performance translates to patient outcomes and experience we need to gather information from a range of sources. For example, we gather data from clinical incident reporting, clinical outcomes, audits, patient experience surveys, patient feedback, clinical registries and clinical indicator sets that compare standardised outcomes both internally and externally (benchmarking).

Here at Ramsay Health Care we have robust processes to ensure clinical outcome data is reviewed in time frames relative to the risk, the greater the risk the more frequently and immediate our review. We have systems that ensure information is escalated to the highest level of the organisation if they pose an imminent risk to patients' safety. Otherwise we review clinical performance at monthly, quarterly and half yearly intervals. Here at RHC we also have systems to ensure patient outcome data is cascaded down to our frontline staff as well as escalated up to the highest levels of governance of the organisation.

Your Safety, Our Care

  is centred on People Caring for People. Our aim is to ensure you receive high quality, safe and effective clinical care whilst in our facilities. We are committed to providing excellence in all our services and look for opportunities to improve at each stage of your journey with us.

Ramsay Health Care hospitals, facilities and services all hold the necessary accreditation with the relevant authorities. Accreditation is one way we assure the community that Ramsay Health Care meets the high standards set for health service providers and the level of care that consumers can expect from our services.

Patient Safety and Clinical Quality Framework

  operates under Ramsay Health Care’s comprehensive Patient Safety and Clinical Quality Framework which consists of five key areas designed to produce reliable, safe, and effective outcomes:

 
 
 
 
 
 

Initiatives to improve your care

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The Ramsay Rule

An initiative that allows patients, their relatives, or carers, to call for rapid assistance when they believe something is ‘not right’ with the clinical condition of the patient.

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Speak Up for Patient Safety

An evidence-based framework which escalates awareness of patient safety and encourages staff to challenge potentially risky behaviour.

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Coming to hospital for mental health care

To assess the improvement in a patient’s mental health, Ramsay Health Care uses the HoNOS (Health of the Nation Outcome Scales) which is an internationally recognised scale to measure progress of health and social functioning of people with a mental disorder. The HoNOS was specifically designed for use in general adult mental health services. On admission, and again prior to discharge, the patient's mental health is assessed. A decrease in the score on discharge indicates that there has been improvement in the patient's mental health since their admission.

To assess the improvement in a patient’s mental health, Ramsay Health Care uses the MHQ-14 (Mental Health Questionnaire), which is an internationally recognised scale. The MHQ–14 is a patient self–report measure consisting of items that address symptoms of fatigue, anxiety and depression and the impact of those symptoms on social and role functioning. On admission and again prior to discharge, the patient assesses their mental health status. An increase in the score on discharge indicates that the patient has noted an improvement in their mental health conditions since their admission.

HoNOS Score (A lower score on discharge is better)

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MHQ-14 (A higher score on discharge is better)

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