Health service improvements highlighted at conference

Sixty projects were on display today detailing improvements in the health service which have transformed the lives of thousands of people in Northern Ireland.

The Conference, ‘Improve, Innovate, Inspire’, was one of the largest ever staged in the province attracting almost 900 people.

Opening the conference, Clive Gowdy, Permanent Secretary of DHSSPS, which organised the seminar, said today’s conference was all about improvement.

“Teams from across Northern Ireland have made real tangible improvements for people using our health and social services,” Mr Gowdy said. “Each and every one of us are potential users of the service and we expect to receive the best care it is possible to provide.”

Jillian Anderson, Service Improvement Leader at the DHSSPS, added: “This approach has encouraged groups, from across the whole health and personal social services, to work together and as a result, significant improvements have been made in many, many services.

“For instance, the introduction of advanced appointment systems has dramatically reduced the number of wasted appointments and enabled improved access into a range of services, both in acute and community settings.”

Speaking about the next wave of the Service Improvement Programme, which will commence in April 2005, Ms Anderson said: “I would encourage everyone here today to go back to their workplace and look at the services being provided and ask ‘is this good enough for me, my family and my friends?’.

“If not, then embrace the tools and techniques of Service Improvement and transform your service into one that is good enough for everyone.”

The Service Improvement Unit sits within the DHSSPS and was set up to run for three years.

(MB/SP)