Surveyors help boost quality assurance in hospitals

5 Mar 2010

A team of healthcare workers was today (March 5) appointed by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) as qualified hospital accreditation surveyors for assessing the quality and safety of local hospitals. Appointees will have the same professional status as their counterparts in Australia and worldwide.

ACHS is an Australian-based, internationally reputable hospital accrediting agency designated by the Pilot Scheme on Hospital Accreditation in Hong Kong as the accreditor.

The newly qualified local surveyors will conduct organisation-wide accreditation surveys of pilot hospitals together with other surveyors from ACHS.

The Deputy Director of Health who is also the Chairperson of the Steering Committee on Hospital Accreditation, Dr Gloria Tam, congratulated the 21 appointees, all of whom were experienced professionals in the local healthcare sector.

The pilot scheme was launched by the Steering Committee to help achieve its goals. Steering Committee members included representatives from the Food and Health Bureau, the Department of Health, the Hospital Authority and private hospitals.

"Hospital accreditation is adopted worldwide as a measure to enhance service quality in hospitals and patient safety. The aim of the pilot scheme is to derive a common quality assurance system which will find international recognition for introduction to public and private hospitals in Hong Kong," Dr Tam said.

"The participation of public and private hospitals in the scheme will ensure a level playing field for both sectors."

Five public hospitals and three private hospitals have joined the three-year pilot scheme, which is expected to complete in 2011.

Dr Tam also congratulated Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital as the first Hong Kong institution to receive accreditation from ACHS on March 4.

"The preparation work for accreditation for the other five public and two private hospitals are in good progress. We are hopeful that more hospitals will be accredited in near future," she said.