June 30th 2015 – Tallaght Hospital has published the 2015 Implementation Report on the 2012 Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) report into the quality, safety and governance of care provided to acute patients admitted to Tallaght Hospital.
Of the 76 recommendations in the 2012 HIQA Report, 48 recommendations (5 local and 43 national) are required to be implemented by Tallaght Hospital and are the focus of this update. Seven recommendations related specifically to Tallaght Hospital – five of which are the responsibility of the Hospital.
Many of these HIQA recommendations are now incorporated into the normal working of the hospital’s governance, leadership, management and clinical processes; with implementation of the remaining recommendations underway.
Tallaght Hospital CEO David Slevin stated “Tallaght Hospital recognised the shortcomings identified in the 2012 HIQA report and has committed each year to implementing and monitoring the recommendations of the report. The 2015 Implementation Report again shows that the HIQA recommendations are embedded in the operation of the Hospital and that sustained progress is being made in conjunction with other Hospital initiatives and process improvements. Tallaght Hospital will continue to implement and monitor the report’s recommendations as a key element of our quality, safety and governance procedures as we constantly work to ensure the highest standards of patient care.”
The 2012 HIQA report was published following an inquiry into quality, safety & governance of care provided to acute patients admitted to Tallaght Hospital. The ED has seen significant capital investment and operational improvements in the intervening years. The increased number of attendees and case complexities across the hospital system has required further improvements including the implementation of Irish Hospital Redesign Programme (IHRP) – of which Tallaght Hospital is a pilot site - to deliver improvements in emergency and elective patient pathways.
In addition, arising from the €5 million upgrade of the ED, rosters and work patterns will be reviewed in conjunction with the clinical care programmes and the IHRP to ensure the Hospital leverages all the benefits of the new design and increased space in the ED.
The primary objective for Tallaght Hospital is to deliver safe, dignified and high-quality care through the best utilisation of resources. It is generally recognised that considerable improvements have been achieved by the Board, Executive Management Team, clinical leaders and staff of Tallaght Hospital in governance, executive functioning and clinical operations since HIQA commenced its inquiry. These changes have been implemented and sustained despite a reduced financial allocation and a reduction in headcount with the consequent need to implement efficiencies and significant costs savings.
http://www.amnch.ie/About-Us/Reports/HIQA-Implementation-Progress-Report-June-2015.html
About Tallaght Hospital
Tallaght Hospital, is one of Ireland’s largest acute teaching hospitals, providing child-health, adult, psychiatric and age-related healthcare on one site. The hospital has 625 beds and employs almost 3,000 staff. The hospital is a provider of local, regional and national specialities. It is also a national urology centre, the second largest provider of dialysis services in the country and a regional orthopaedic trauma centre.
Tallaght Hospital is one of two main teaching hospitals of the University of Dublin Trinity College - specialising in the training and professional development of staff in nursing, emergency medicine and surgery, amongst many others. Tallaght Hospital is part of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group which serves a population of over 1.2 million across seven counties. Uniquely it is also part of the Children’s Hospital Group and a new satellite centre is to be built on the hospital campus as part of the new children’s hospital project.
The hospital’s Emergency Departments catered for 44,640 Adult ED Attendances and 31,934 Paediatric Attendances in 2014. A further 263,929 patients were treated through hospital clinics in 2014. The hospital’s operations are supported by a community of 300 general practitioners operating within the Hospital’s catchment.
