2019 - MOTION 7 -
Improvement of our clinical quality of care
MOTION
We ask the OCB Board to see to it and ensure that concrete measures to improve the quality of clinical care are taken, and a 2-3 years action plan to be proposed.
We are asking for field representatives and clinicians to be included in working groups between operations and the Medical and HR departments.
Pierre Malchair, Cecile De Walque, Elisa Perocchio, Francesca Marian, Wilma Vanden Boogaard, Livia Tampellini and Silvia Dallatomasina
BACKGROUND AND EXPLANATION
The motion was raised on the spot and no background or explanation provided in written.
FEEDBACK (Final draft)
Following the motion that was passed at the OCB Gathering in 2019 it was decided to launch a transversal reflection and a project aimed specifically at improving the (clinical) quality of care.
A project manager was appointed in October 2019 to lead this work. During the first phase in October-December 2019, more than 100 staff members across all departments and at field level contributed with their experience, insight and input. The aim was to map out critical needs, enable a holistic understanding and analysis of the current situation, and provide ideas for the way forward. An objective and key results framework was designed based on the outcome and findings, and five working groups were established to bring the project forward during the second phase. The process was supported and agreed upon by the department directors, including full support from the medical department.
An action plan was finalized, and the second phase was planned to start during the first months of 2020, with working groups on the following topics:
- Measures to ensure qualified and adequate human resources
- Trainings, protocols, technical support and tools
- Patient and health worker safety
- Supporting structures and frameworks, including collaboration and coordination
- Broader issues such as community centeredness
Each working group was foreseen to establish its own set of objectives and expected results, within a specific timeframe.
In order to ensure close follow-up and supervision at headquarter level, it was decided to hire a deputy project manager, as the project manager was based outside Belgium. Although the working groups were established by January 2020, the implementation of the second phase was postponed due to delays in identifying someone for this critical role. By the time the person was identified, the Covid pandemic had made it necessary to reallocate human resources at headquarter level in Brussels in order to respond to the critical situation. This directly impacted the project, as the deputy was reallocated to the Covid response. Consequently, the project was left without the necessary human resources to guide the implementation forwards at headquarter level. This remains the situation today.
Still, some concrete steps towards improving the quality of our recruitment processes have already been made, including a pilot project aimed at general practitioners recruited in Belgium. This will be developed further, and potentially be expanded to also include recruitment of general practitioners by other partner sections, and possibly also specialist profiles. Furthermore, the reporting system for medical incidents is under revision, and a new set-up is currently being tested before a potential roll-out.
Next steps
The Covid pandemic has clearly taken its toll on the project, and progress has more or less stalled since the beginning of 2020. The executive is currently considering, in dialogue with the project manager, how the key results that emerged from the first phase of the project can be integrated into the existing platforms and current set-up at headquarter level, rather than being managed as a separate set-up.
However, the motion is not yet considered responded to, and will need further follow-up over the coming period.