Continued Improvement Of Health And Social Care
• Continued reform and improvement of health and social care is expected to continued to be a societal and governmental priority . This is likely to lead to further changes in the way that services are governed, funded and structures.
• The Authority has witnessed good practice and seen improvements in the care and support provided to many of the most vulnerable adults and children in residential care. For many services further improvements are required to ensure that they meet National Standards and support people exercise their full rights in society.
• People expect providers of health and social care services to be open so that they can be held to account and make informed decisions that lead to the best outcomes for users of their
services
• Improving health information has been identified as a key enabler for improvement in the Irish healthcare system. As the body responsible for developing a coherent and integrated approach to health information, based on standards and international best practice the Authority will have a central role to play in driving this agenda forward.
• There is public support for the use of regulation as an instrument for improvement and an expectation that the remit of HIQA is likely to be extended into other currently unregulated sectors. There are existing proposals to extend the Authority’s remit commencing with the extension of monitoring role within the private healthcare providers. Other proposed areas include the commencement of the registration and monitoring of designated centres for children, supervision of research ethics committees in respect of clinical trials, monitoring protection against medical ionising radiation, licensing of healthcare providers and regulation of homecare services
• The economy and public finances continue to emerge from the financial crisis but demands for resources are unlikely ever to be fully met so decision makers will need access to information to inform health policy decisions
• All of the above changes will have a direct impact on the work of the Authority which on turn is a key driver and catalyst to the reform agenda and its will have to responsive and aligned to support reform and change.
• These changes all present opportunities and challenges which we will constantly need to adapt to. We will have to make the most of how we work ensuring that we have quality processes, make the best use of information, embrace new forms of IT and improve our own efficiency, effectiveness and productivity
• The Authority has witnessed good practice and seen improvements in the care and support provided to many of the most vulnerable adults and children in residential care. For many services further improvements are required to ensure that they meet National Standards and support people exercise their full rights in society.
• People expect providers of health and social care services to be open so that they can be held to account and make informed decisions that lead to the best outcomes for users of their
services
• Improving health information has been identified as a key enabler for improvement in the Irish healthcare system. As the body responsible for developing a coherent and integrated approach to health information, based on standards and international best practice the Authority will have a central role to play in driving this agenda forward.
• There is public support for the use of regulation as an instrument for improvement and an expectation that the remit of HIQA is likely to be extended into other currently unregulated sectors. There are existing proposals to extend the Authority’s remit commencing with the extension of monitoring role within the private healthcare providers. Other proposed areas include the commencement of the registration and monitoring of designated centres for children, supervision of research ethics committees in respect of clinical trials, monitoring protection against medical ionising radiation, licensing of healthcare providers and regulation of homecare services
• The economy and public finances continue to emerge from the financial crisis but demands for resources are unlikely ever to be fully met so decision makers will need access to information to inform health policy decisions
• All of the above changes will have a direct impact on the work of the Authority which on turn is a key driver and catalyst to the reform agenda and its will have to responsive and aligned to support reform and change.
• These changes all present opportunities and challenges which we will constantly need to adapt to. We will have to make the most of how we work ensuring that we have quality processes, make the best use of information, embrace new forms of IT and improve our own efficiency, effectiveness and productivity