ENROLMENT IN ENSURE SAFER SYSTEMS PROGRAMME
In August 2021, NHG enrolled in Ensure Safer Systems (ESS), a five-year programme by the Ministry of Health (MOH). ESS is a two-track programme that focuses on standards and assessment, as well as high reliability in clinical care. Dr Tung Yew Cheong, Deputy Group Chief Quality Officer, NHG, who is NHG’s Deployment Lead, ensures coordination across NHG Institutions through the ESS Secretariats.
REDUCING PREVENTABLE HARM THROUGH COLLABORATION
The NHG Harm Reduction Collaborative (HRC) was launched in May 2020 and sought to reduce preventable harm to our patients by 50 per cent within the course of three years. The Collaborative is currently led by Associate Professor Gervais Wansaicheong, Senior Consultant, Diagnostic Radiology (Clinical), Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and Ms Claudine Oh, Assistant Director, Operation Admin, Yishun Health, and supported by institution representatives, facilitators, and an external specialist, who coached, helped implement change, and developed safer clinical care practices across the institutions. Group Quality’s NEST (NHG Enhancing Safety Together) Office manages the coordination and planning of HRC’s activities. To-date, 13 teams from eight NHG Institutions and units are involved in projects spanning three major work streams: i) Healthcare-Associated Infections, ii) Medication Safety, and iii) Procedural Safety. Each work stream covers specific areas in which harm reduction efforts are targeted.
The three stages and nine steps of the NHG Spread and Scale Framework.
Success stories included a team from Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), which implemented effective interventions to counter methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. The team subsequently extended the project to two additional wards to care for more patients. Another example would be the joint effort between National Healthcare Group Polyclinics (NHGP) and National Healthcare Group Diagnostics (NHGD) to champion greater procedural safety by ensuring zero Serious Reportable Event (SRE) for all patients requiring X-ray examinations. As a result, the number of SREs decreased from eight (2019-2021) to zero (2022). To improve medication safety, Project PopMed, a Pharmacy Transformation initiative, sought to identify patients at risk of inappropriate medication use and poor adherence to medication. These patients would be guided by a pharmacist health coach to practise better medication management.
NHG SPREAD AND SCALE SYSTEM
In September 2021, NHG Group Quality launched the ‘NHG Spread and Scale System’, a digital learning system designed to capture knowledge generated from each improvement project enrolled within the system. In addition to serving as a documentation platform for individual project teams, it functions as a repository of data and information for various quality improvement initiatives, which is readily accessible to Quality Teams across NHG Institutions.
Based on the NHG Spread and Scale Framework, this digital learning system also provides opportunities for coaching and peer learning to aid project teams to spread improvement insights and extend implementation to more sites beyond pilot studies. To-date, the ‘NHG Spread and Scale System’ has captured information on 15 improvement projects.
NHG QUALITY DAY WEBINAR 2021
NHG held its annual Quality Day virtually in September 2021. Themed “Co-Creating with Kindness”, Associate Professor Tai Hwei Yee, Group Chief Quality Officer, NHG, emphasised the timeliness and relevance of reinforcing patient-centred care, especially during challenging times.
Keynote speaker, Dr Bob Klaber, Consultant, General Paediatrician, and Director of Strategy, Research, and Innovation at Imperial College Healthcare, NHS Trust, United Kingdom, issued a clarion call for greater focus on kindness in order to reconnect healthcare to its mission and purpose. When kindness is practised organisation-wide, there is greater joy in work, understanding, and empathy, with positive impact on patient and population outcomes. The event also recognised individuals and teams across the NHG Family who had contributed towards quality improvement.
In 2021, 34 projects were presented with the Quality Improvement Award, 36 individuals and eight teams received the Excellence in Action Award, and six individuals clinched the Exemplary Patient & Caregiver Award.