The Evolution of NSQHSS in the Australian Health System: A Reflection

This essay provides an overview of the evolution of National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (NSQHSS) in the Australian health system. It discusses the establishment of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care in 2006 and its role in ensuring quality, safety, and standards in the healthcare sector. The essay highlights the development of national accreditation schemes and the factors that led to the review of existing accreditation processes. It also outlines the consultation process involving stakeholders, technical experts, and healthcare professionals in the development of NSQHS standards. Furthermore, the essay emphasizes the importance of regulatory impact statements and the seven-stage methodology used to develop the standards. Finally, it discusses the significance of reporting National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards and their impact on patient safety, quality care, and workforce obligations, concluding with the need for healthcare providers to stay updated with current policies to deliver the best services.

Running Head: HEALTH CARE
The evolution of National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards
(NSQHSS) in the Australian heath system
Name of Student
Name of Institution
Name of Tutor
Date

2
HEALTH CARE
The evolution of National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards
(NSQHSS) in the Australian heath system
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality and Health care service is a body
tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that quality, safety, and standards are
maintained in the health care sector in Australia (Pronovost, 2011). The commission
started its work in 2006 by collecting data, conducting surveys, and involving
stakeholders in the health care sector. In this operation, it was able to disseminate
the information to the public about the importance of safety and quality health service
standards (Battles & Stevens, 2011).The operation has also lead to the development
of policies in regard to national safety and quality health care services standards in
Australia. It is important to note that safety and quality are critical values in health
care and should be taken seriously by following strictly and rules or regulations that
are meant to regulate the same.
After the enactment of the commission in 2006, the Australian minister in charge of
Advisory Council recommended that the commission should do the following:
 To review the accreditation of health care providers in Australia by
considering the current setups in relation to international experiences and
give recommendations from a revised method of accrediting private and
public health care service providers in Australia.
 Highlight the pros and cons of the current system with an aim to understand
the areas that needed improvement and to come up with a model that
merges the advantages of both systems.

3
HEALTH CARE
The development of national accreditation was a decision by health ministers which
came as a result of the following factors:
 The accreditation of health care service providers in Australia had serious
problems due to fragmentation from the fact that there were no proper rules to
regulate the process.
 The process of accreditation for quality and safety was perceived as a tedious
and complex procedure requiring a lot of financial input.
 Although there was accreditation, it was seen as lacking transparency
required by the government and consumers.
 The accreditation also lacked general standards and requirements that could
be applied to all health care settings. The available standards were seen to be
fragmented and lacking common grounds applicable to any health care
setting.
In addition to these drawbacks, it was evident that the accreditation lacked
publication to the general public, thus many players were not privy to what underlies
the accreditation; the only available information was the process such as the period
of accreditation leaving behind crucial information such as the importance of safety
and quality service (Smith, 2015). With these loopholes in the current accreditation
method and process, the commission had the grounds to review the whole system
and change where necessary. Therefore, in July 2006, the commission started
collecting ideas from stakeholders with a view to capturing inclusivity.
The development of a national accreditation scheme
Recognition of the environment in which health service is taking place is a tedious
process because the accreditation generally should look into many considerations

4
HEALTH CARE
including evaluation of many factors to ascertain the viability of the health care
system before granting a clean bill of health.
The process involved consultation that included the following:
 Drafting of AHSSQA scheme and NSQHS standards considering the input
from the group technical expert
 Involving the committee on standardization to look at the preliminary draft
papers and make their recommendations
 Attending a joint workshop with the technical committees
 Attending workshops with health care professionals to deliberate on the best
methods of coming up with an all-inclusive scheme
 Testing NSQHS standards with a range of health care service providers,
organizations, and accreditation bodies
 Developing a Regulatory Impact Statement which is a necessary requirement
by the Australian governments
 Receiving feedback formally and meeting approval statements from the
minister of Health.
The development of NSQHS standardization was as a result of a number of things
such as:
 More than one hundred meetings held with stakeholders and health care
organizations
 More than 56 focus groups convened to discuss the NSQHS standardization
having more 600 attendants.
 A workshop of 130 attendants convened for national level and attended by
key stakeholders only

5
HEALTH CARE
 More than 280 written submissions that were received and accurately
analyzed
 More than 60 presentations delivered to health sector participants
The Statement of Regulatory Impact
The Council of Australian Governments requires that the minister in charge of heath
follows an established procedure when undertaking consultations on proposals that
have a direct impact on the health regulations. The governments have come to an
agreement that for them to have effective regulatory policies and reduce the costs
that come with the whole process, they must avoid unnecessary compliance and
reduce restrictions to business ("Standards improvement phase II", 2011). It is
therefore important to undertake regulatory assessment before a decision to make
changes is made. The analysis by stakeholders on the regulation which forms the
Re`gulatory Impact Statement is availed to the governments. This helps them make
their informed decision process.
Regulations mean any enforceable requirements which must be followed strictly by
businesses and the community (Houston, 2012). The expectation of any government
is that the public, businesses, health care service providers, and organizations
should completely comply with the regulations.
The process of standard development
The process of standard development involves critical points in the development of
the standardization system. This lead to the development of a seven-stage
methodology was used to come up with the standards:

6
HEALTH CARE
 Selecting the content area after conducting successful consultation with
stakeholders
 Preparing preliminary standards in consultation with technical expertise
 Reporting to the relevant authorities about the progress of the process
Self -reflection using Bain’s 5 level model on the on how NSQHSS
Reporting
National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (NSQHSS) in Australia is an
important part of the regulation that ensures that the safety and quality health service
standards are strictly followed. In fact, in the health care sector, it is important to take
note of safety procedures and to ensure that health services offered are up to the
best standards.
Responding
This is because it touches on the lives of individuals. The World Health Organization
requires that every government puts in enough effort to ensure that her citizens get
quality health services (“Standards of Occupational and Environmental Health
Nursing”, 2012). Therefore, the regulations and policies that check on how health
practices are carried out.
The National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards so positioned to look at
the following:
 The effects on patient safety and providing quality care which would be
considered in making business decisions

7
HEALTH CARE
 Regular reports on the quality of service offered in health care organizations
given to the executive committee on safety should be analyzed and monitored
by the executive level of governance concerned with policy implementation
 The safety of the patient and the actions are taken to improve it
 To ensure that the workforce is privy to their obligations and quality of service
offered by them
 To ensure that people with delegated obligations are given necessary support
to help them understand the requirements on safety and quality health
service.
Relating
In this connection, assigning roles to individuals should be done in accordance with
the laid down procedures. For instance, an individual should be assigned roles in his
area of specialization so that professionalism is always upheld. This will certainly
improve the quality and ensure safety standards (Marshall, 2014). Clinical
procedures require extremely careful handlers. Safety is therefore paramount when
carrying out clinical procedures so that a patient does not face the risk of being re-
infected by other infections. In this connection, I suggest that clinicians should well
verse with the current clinical guidelines and pathways that are supported by the
best evidence available (Marck, 2013).This means that there should be documented
guidelines available at the health care center.
Reasoning
Clinical officers are also required to adopt processes that would enable them to
identify the patients' problems early enough so that their management can be

8
HEALTH CARE
enhanced. This will reduce the risk of harm. Therefore, it is important to make
available mechanisms for the patients’ problem in order to reduce the risk that may
arise later.
Reconstructing
Finally, reporting of incidents and complaints management is equally an important
task for everyone involved in the provision of health care services. This will help
minimize the impact of such conflicts and foster a good relationship between the
health care providers themselves and the patients.
Conclusion
Health care is a critical area, which must be handled with utmost sobriety. The
policies and regulations guiding the practice must deliver the best results otherwise
problems may occur. Additionally, health care providers are required to update
themselves with the current Australian policies on the National Safety and Quality
Health Service Standards so that they can deliver the best in terms of services they
render.

9
HEALTH CARE
References
Battles, J., & Stevens, D. (2011). Adverse event reporting systems and
safer healthcare. Quality And Safety In Health Care, 18(1), 2-2. doi:
10.1136/qshc.2008.031997
Houston, M. (2012). New standards in Ireland aim to improve safety and quality
of health services. 344(jun29 2), e4506-e4506. doi: 10.1136/bmj.e4506
Malone, B. (2016). Pursuing patient safety. Quality And Safety In Health Care,
13(2), 86-87. doi: 10.1136/qhc.13.2.86-a
Marck, P. (2013). Building safer systems by ecological design: using
restoration science to develop a medication safety intervention. Quality And
Safety In Health Care, 15(2), 92-97. doi: 10.1136/qshc.2005.015453
Marshall, M. (2014). The culture of safety. Quality And Safety In Health Care, 12(4),
318-a-318. doi: 10.1136/qhc.12.4.318-a
McKenna, H. (2015). Nursing: quality in numbers. Quality And Safety In Health
Care, 7(1), 3-4. doi: 10.1136/qshc.7.1.3
Pronovost, P. (2011). Proposed standards for quality improvement research
and publication: one step forward and two steps back. Quality And Safety In
Health Care, 15(3), 152-153. doi: 10.1136/qshc.2006.018432
Smith, T. (2015). Critical relationships in the quality and safety of health care.
Quality And Safety In Health Care, 13(2), 156-159. doi:
10.1136/qshc.2004.010645
Smith, T. (2012). Culture and incentives conducive to quality and safety in

10
HEALTH CARE
health care. Quality And Safety In Health Care, 13(4), 317-320. doi:
10.1136/qshc.2004.011569
Standards improvement phase II. (2011). Chemical Health And Safety, 12(2),
36. doi: 10.1016/j.chs.2005.01.006
Standards of Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing. (2012).
Workplace Health & Safety, 60(3), 97-103. doi: 10.3928/21650799-
20120227-91