Health PEI achieves national accreditation

Accreditation Canada has certified that Health PEI’s programs and services throughout the province meet national standards for health care excellence.

More than 95 percent of the 3,550 criteria that Accreditation Canada assessed met national standards, a significant improvement from Health PEI’s 2013 review when just over 89 percent out of 2,592 criteria met the standards. Accreditation is a voluntary process that takes place every four years as part of ongoing quality improvement within health care.

“Accreditation Canada’s latest report highlights significant improvements that Health PEI has made over the last four years,” said Rick Adams, Health PEI’s executive director of Quality and Safety. “This reflects our staff and physicians’ commitment to using evidence and best practices – as well as embedding continuous quality improvement into their day-to-day work – in order to meet, and strive to exceed, national standards.”

As part of the survey process, Accreditation Canada’s team of 11 surveyors - all experts in their respective health care fields - visited 30 health care facilities at the end of September. Surveyors evaluated patient and client programs and services and examined administrative and support services within Health PEI. They reviewed documentation, carried out team interviews, participated in facility tours, and met with staff, physicians, patients/families and community partners.

“The quality and safety of health care services being provided on Prince Edward Island are very important to Islanders, and we are very pleased with the Accreditation Canada results and progress Health PEI has made since the last evaluation,” Health and Wellness Minister Robert Henderson said. “Achieving national accreditation status is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of Health PEI’s staff and physicians, and it is a testament to their commitment to providing Islanders with health care services delivered with the utmost quality and safety.”

The 2017 Accreditation Canada report for Health PEI is available at www.healthpei.ca/accreditation.

Media contact:
Amanda Hamel
ajhamel@gov.pe.ca

Backgrounder

About the 2017 accreditation report:
Accreditation Canada’s final report identified several strengths throughout the health system. Highlights include:

• governance structure;
• quality of care provided at the front lines;
• interdisciplinary team work; and
• advancements in medication management and emergency health services management.

The report also identified opportunities for quality improvement such as continuing with current efforts to enhance point of care testing; strengthen policy management; extend the electronic health record beyond hospital settings; and, address aging health care infrastructure.

The unmet criteria will be the focus for quality improvement for Health PEI; quality improvement teams are developing action plans for each of the recommendations that need to be addressed, and follow-up reports will be sent to Accreditation Canada to demonstrate progress.

About Accreditation Canada
Accreditation Canada is a national independent, not-for-profit organization that sets standards for quality and safety in health care and accredits health organizations in Canada and around the world.

Accreditation Canada’s Qmentum accreditation program involves external peer surveyors conducting on-site surveys during which they assess an organization’s leadership, governance, clinical programs and services against Accreditation Canada requirements for quality and safety. These requirements include:

• national standards of excellence;
• required safety practices to reduce potential harm; and
• questionnaires to assess the work environment, patient safety culture, governance functioning and client experience.