Canberra Health Services has officially received its three-year accreditation from the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards, confirming that the organisation is providing exceptional healthcare and patient safety, the ACT Government announced today.

Ten independent assessors and one assessor in-training assessed the entire organisation over five days.

CHS met all 151 actions across eight National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards.

The final accreditation assessment report noted many examples of a quality healthcare system, including:

•           A positive workforce culture closely aligned to the CHS vision and values;

•           Passionate, enthusiastic, and committed staff, and significantly improved morale;

•           A strong commitment to inclusion, including strengthening partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients and groups;

•           Patients and carers included in care planning and delivery;

•           Delivery of quality comprehensive care through staff collaboration across all disciplines in the patient journey; authentic partnerships between staff, patients, and carers; and strong documentation and patient handover procedures during the continuum of care;

•           Safe and effective responses to deterioration in a patient’s mental state, and rapid referral;

•           A robust risk management framework supported by policies, procedures, and guidelines that are well understood by staff.

This was the first time that CHS was assessed against the second edition of the standards, including the new standard of Comprehensive Care.

Rachel Stephen-Smith, ACT Minister for Health, said the results were a positive turnaround from four years ago when the same service (then part of ACT Health) failed to meet 33 actions from the accreditation process.

“To achieve accreditation and meet all the national standards while managing the significant impacts of a global pandemic is a fantastic result for the Canberra Health Services team,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.

“While there are many positives, I was particularly pleased to see the assessors highlight inclusion work with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, which aims to ensure First Nations people feel welcome and safe in our health facilities and help close the gap in health outcomes.

“It was also great to see some of our programs, such as Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) receive a special mention as an example of patients being actively involved in their care from pre-admission to discharge – reducing length of stay, post-surgery complications and improving patient satisfaction.

“Congratulations to all of the 8,500 CHS team members for this well-deserved recognition of your skills, commitment, and the quality of work you do every day.”

Emma Davidson, ACT Minister for Mental Health, said the accreditation results were a testament to Canberra Health Services staff’s care and commitment.

“There has been significant self-improvement from all levels of the organisation, all while managing increased sickness in the community, chronic workforce shortages, and fatigue,” she said.

“The assessors noted how motivated our mental health team at Canberra Health Services is and highlighted effective systems in place, such as having mental health representatives based in the Emergency Department for prompt risk assessment and patient transfers.

“Other new initiatives highlighted include the staff station in the Acute Mental Health Unit which enhances interaction and mutual discussion between staff and patients in decision-making about patient care.

“To the team at Canberra Health Services – congratulations on this fantastic result. It is a testament to your hard work and continued dedication to improved health outcomes for Canberrans.”