The private healthcare system in Western Australia is excelling, with local hospitals featuring prominently a national program recognising commitment to innovation, safety and quality in healthcare.
Seven of the 38 hospitals to receive grants from the 2007 Medibank Private Safety and Clinical Improvement program hail from Perth and regional Western Australia, an exceptional effort acknowledged today at an official presentation function in Perth.
The grants are designed to fund projects that make a tangible difference to patient safety and clinical quality, and will inject over $241,000 into the private hospital system for this purpose, almost a quarter of the total funding made available in the current program.
More than one million dollars has been granted by Medibank Private to hospitals around Australia this year. In the last two years Medibank Private has provided $1.9 million in funding for 73 quality and safety projects across Australia.
Locally based St John of God Health Care has been particularly successful in 2007, with the group's Bunbury, Subiaco and Geraldton campuses implementing projects extending their. Additionally a project involving St John of God hospitals in Victoria is being run from it's Perth headquarters.
The other Western Australian hospitals to receive a grant were Bethesda Hospital, Hollywood Private, Perth Clinic and Mercy Hospital Mount Lawley.
Types of projects funded range from the practical such as falls prevention and infection control, through to the development of new techniques to manage patient transition from hospital to home.
Medibank Private's General Manager Western, Bob Payne, praised the local projects as being of a particularly high standard.
"Quality and safety is emerging as the number one issue in Australian health care, so it is inspiring that local private hospitals are now being recognised for their effort and innovation.
"Australia has some of the best quality hospital care in the world, but there is always room for improvement, and improvement and innovation should be supported. Medibank Private is proud to be working with hospitals to improve health outcomes, not just for our members, but for everyone.
"And its great to see some real innovation coming not just from the big, nationwide hospital networks like St John of God Health Care and Ramsay Health Care, but also from some of the independent providers, such as Bethesda Hospital and Mercy Hospital Mount Lawley," Mr Payne said.
Importantly, the lessons learned from the various quality and safety projects funded over the last two years will be shared throughout the health sector, extending the value of individual projects far beyond the hospitals in which they are run.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
James Connors - T. (03) 8622 5163 or 0433 992 677
E: james_connors@medibank.com.au