What is the Framework?
The Australian Safety and Quality Framework for Health Care describes a vision for safe and high quality care for all Australians, and sets out the actions needed to achieve this vision. The Framework specifies three core principles for safe and high quality care. These are that care is consumer centred, driven by information, and organised for safety. The Framework was endorsed by Health Ministers as the national safety and quality framework for Australia in November 2010.The Framework provides 21 areas for action that all people in the health system can take to improve the safety and quality of care provided in all healthcare settings over the next decade. The Framework should:
- be used as the basis of strategic and operational safety and quality plans
- provide a mechanism for refocusing current safety and quality improvement activities and designing goals for health service improvement
- be used as a guide for reviewing investments and research in safety and quality
- promote discussion with consumers, clinicians, managers, researchers and policy makers about how they might best form partnerships to improve safety and quality.
Who does the Framework apply to?
The Framework applies in all part of the Australian health care system, and can be used by primary, community, and acute health care providers and managers, consumers, and other organisations and governments that improve, regulate, build evidence about, or advocate for safety and quality in health care.How can the Framework be used?
The Framework has been designed as a flexible document that can be used in different ways according to needs and circumstances. Some suggestions include using the Framework:- as the basis for organising strategic and operational safety and quality plans
- as the basis for local, regional, jurisdictional or national policy development
- to review current quality improvement activities and investments against the actions and dimensions in the Framework
- to design and revise goals for health service improvement based on the actions in the Framework
- to analyse patient safety risks and potential solutions within specific clinical areas
- as a teaching and educational tool to provide an overview of some of the core concepts in the safety and quality discipline
- to promote discussion and engagement with consumers, clinicians, managers, researchers and policy makers about how they might best contribute to safety and quality improvement.
Getting started
To support the use of the Framework, the Commission has prepared a series of “Getting Started” documents. These have been specially prepared for four groups who are particularly important for embedding the Framework in the Australian healthcare system. Getting Started documents have been prepared for: Each Getting Started document focuses on a number of the actions in the Framework that particularly apply to that group and describes activities that they can do or put in place to improve safety and quality.Tools and resources
A selection of tools and resources that can be used to support the use of the Framework has been assembled. These may be of relevance depending on the context of your own setting.How was the Framework developed?
A proposed Framework was developed in 2009 following consultation with consumer organisations, jurisdictions, the private healthcare sector, the primary care sector and other healthcare stakeholders. This proposed Framework was then subject to wide consultation with stakeholder between July and October 2009. The report on the consultation process on the proposed National Safety and Quality Framework contains summaries of the processes used throughout the consultation process and the feedback received. Copies of the written submissions can be found on the Proposed National Safety and Quality Framework - Written Submissions page. The final Framework has taken feedback from the consultation process into account.Contact
Nicola Dunbar
Program Manager
(02) 9126 3638
mail@safetyandquality.gov.au
