Collaborative approach behind new mental health and addiction quality improvement programme

Le Va is part of a new nationwide programme that will see consumers, their whānau/ families, and service providers working together to improve mental health and addiction services so that people get the best care possible.

The mental health and addiction quality improvement programme is being led by the Health Quality & Safety Commission (HQSC) and, as the name suggests, it uses a quality improvement approach to improving mental health and addiction services, to drive equitable access and outcomes across the country. 

The programme involves close collaboration with Pacific, Māori and other service providers, consumers and their whānau/families, to help identify opportunities for improvements, facilitate shared learnings, and to drive evidence-based initiatives that will support better outcomes for all who engage with these services.

The programme is based on the successful Scottish Patient Safety Programme: Mental Health and work undertaken by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. This internationally supported approach uses improvement science to measure the local impact of evidence-based changes and interventions.

Close engagement with the sector has identified five priority areas that the programme will address, namely:

•   Learning from serious adverse events and consumer experience
•   Maximising physical health
•   Improving medication management and prescribing
•   Improving service transitions
•   Minimising restrictive care.

In addition to tackling these key issues, the programme will create more quality improvement capability in the sector. The first facilitator training course is already well underway, with DHB and NGO representatives from across New Zealand already using quality improvement methodology to support improvements in their local services.

Achieving more equitable outcomes will be a priority focus of the programme, and there will be an equity lens across the whole work plan, as well as for any initiative or project undertaken. 

Le Va is taking an active role in the programme through participation in the leadership group and workshops. 

Find out more information on the programme

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