Quality and Patient Safety

BOPDHB is committed to providing high quality and safe health services; the right care at the right time in the right setting.

Quality of care

Your rights.

When you use a health or disability service you have rights. The rights are called the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights or "the Code".

You have:

1. The right to be treated with respect.
2. The right to be treated fairly.
3. The right to dignity and independence.
4. The right to have good care and support that fits your needs.
5. The right to be told things in a way that you understand.
6. The right to be told everything you need to know about your care and support.
7. The right to make choices about your care and support.
8. The right to have support.
9. The right to decide if you want to be part of training, teaching or research.
10. The right to make a complaint.
    

Privacy
Privacy is a priority for our patients and staff. Your personal physical privacy is respected and your personal health information will remain confidential and will only be used for its intended purpose. The Privacy Act controls how we collect, use, disclose, store and give access to 'personal information', the privacy Codes of Practice do the same, but they apply to specific areas. Learn more.

Quality Accounts
We are continually looking at ways to improve the quality and safety of the health services we provide. Our annual Quality Accounts provide a snapshot of how we are performing against set targets as well as key initiatives underway. Quality Accounts are available under "Q" on the A-Z Publications page.

Patient safety

Providing safe, effective and efficient health services is a top priority for us. 

We consistently contribute to national programmes focussed on improving the quality and safety of our services, an example is Falls Prevention. 

Learning from Adverse Events

While New Zealand has an excellent health care system providing safe and efficient care to the vast majority of people, adverse health events can still occur.

An adverse event is an event with negative reactions or results that are unintended, unexpected or unplanned (often referred to as 'incidents' or 'reportable events'). In practice this is most often understood as an event which results in harm to a patient. Each year, DHBs and other health providers report these events to the Health Quality & Safety Commission. 

You can view BOPDHB reports here and/or see the NZ Health, Quality & Safety Commissions website for the national report. Learning from adverse events is crucial to continually improve person-centred, safe and effective delivery of care. In turn, this contributes to achieving BOPDHB's vision of Healthy, thriving communities, Kia Momoho Te Hāpori ōranga.

Feedback

Your feedback also helps us improve the quality and safety of our health services. You can provide your feedback in several ways as follows:

• Online Feedback Form. A hard copy of this feedback form can be found within our hospitals. If you want one, just ask a staff member.
• While in hospital you can talk about issues with a staff member or ask to speak to the unit manager. You can also ask to speak with one of our Quality and Patient Safety Coordinators, they are available during office hours to discuss any issues with patients and staff.
• If you have had an overnight stay in hospital you will be emailed a Patient Experience Survey. Information from this is compiled in a Quarterly Report. This is published  under "P" on the  A-Z Publications page and more information on the  NZ Health, Quality & Safety Commissions website
  
  
• If you require independent support to assist you, free services are available from:
• • Health Consumer Service - call toll-free: 0800 801 482
  • Nationwide Health and Disability Advocacy Service - call toll-free: 0800 555 050
• If you are unhappy with the health or disability service you have received you can also contact the Health and Disability Commissioner on 0800 11 22 33.