On Tuesday 11th October Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, welcomed the publication of the seventh report of the National Healthcare Quality Reporting System at the 2022 National Patient Safety Office Conference.
The National Healthcare Quality Reporting System report gives an overview of quality in our health service over time and against international standards. This year’s report is unique as it includes data for 2020 and 2021 capturing, for the first time, data on the quality of care provided in our health system during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the unprecedented interruption to much normal healthcare and the challenges presented during this time, the report highlights a number of positive achievements in the health service over these two years. This includes the ongoing reduction in mortality rates for stroke, increased uptake in influenza vaccination for those age 65 years and older and the majority of people reporting a positive overall experience in hospital.
It also highlights areas for further examination and a continued focus, for example, benzodiazepine medicine usage in the over 65’s continues to be higher than internationally reported averages.
The report, for the first time, includes a dedicated chapter on women’s health which highlights positive improvements in cancer survival for women while highlighting the differences between genders in the rates of hospitalisation for asthma and reported experience of care in hospital.
Minister Donnelly said: “I am pleased to announce the publication of this year’s National Healthcare Quality Reporting System report. This publicly available data on the quality of care provided in our health system is a key component in achieving the Sláintecare vision of delivering a modern and responsive service that offers the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
“This year’s report reflects the quality of care provided through much of the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights areas of our health system which demonstrated remarkable resilience during this challenging time and areas which showed more notable changes. While it is timely and important that we recognise and reflect upon these changes, further cycles of National Healthcare Quality Reporting System considered along with wider health information data sets, will be necessary to draw conclusions about the longer-term impact of the pandemic on the quality of our healthcare services.”
“The National Healthcare Quality Reporting System forms part of the expanding data evidence base to support decision making in health. This information enables us to better understand the areas of healthcare that are performing well and areas that require continued focus and positive actions to improve.”
“It is important that we all collectively use this information to help inform decisions about how we design and reform our health services to meet the changing needs of our society into the future.”
Chief Nursing Officer, Rachel Kenna stated: “I welcome the publication of this seventh National Healthcare Quality Reporting System. The robust data presented in this report is an important part of the quality improvement cycle which allows our healthcare system to reflect on progress made and understand areas for improvement.”
“A particular focus of this year’s report is the quality of healthcare experienced through the lens of women’s health. This reflects the ongoing commitment of the Department to put women’s experiences of healthcare at the heart of health policy. This understanding is key to shaping and improving how we deliver care to women in Ireland.”
Chief Medical Officer, Professor Breda Smyth added: “This year’s National Healthcare Quality Reporting System report provides an important snapshot of the quality of healthcare services during a time of unprecedented challenge. From a public health perspective, I am delighted to see the significant increase in flu vaccination uptake among people aged 65 years and older. This is testament to the co-ordinated and responsive approach by our healthcare system to vaccination and increased public awareness on the benefits of vaccination.”
“The report also highlights that the flu vaccination uptake amongst healthcare workers was at its highest ever during the 2020/2021 flu season, however, this rate was not sustained for the latest flu season. Vaccination is a critical part of the response in dealing with flu each winter. The HSE’s flu vaccination programme is now underway, and I would encourage everyone who is eligible to get the flu vaccine to do so.”
The National Healthcare Quality Reporting System Report is published on https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/5fd4f6-national-healthcare-quality-reporting-system-reports/ . The information provided in this report should be reviewed and examined by those tasked with the planning and delivery of healthcare and/or the development of health policy locally, regionally and nationally. This information is important to ensure safe quality healthcare in Ireland through a process of systematic, continuous quality improvement. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of healthcare will continue to be monitored in future cycles of the National Healthcare Quality Reporting System report.