patient satisfaction rating of good, very good or excellent (Patient satisfaction survey carried out by Howard Warwick & Associates, Jan - Sept 2009)
Internal reviews
Routine and regular audits for quality assurance and risk management take place throughout General Healthcare Group (GHG), in addition to external accreditation and regulatory inspections by third parties. This is essential for maintaining and ensuring the continuous development of our high standards of patient care.
These internal audits cover the full spectrum of activities we undertake, from clinical and non-clinical adverse incidents, infection control, customer satisfaction, to finance, property, safety and training. Audit outcomes are used to provide performance assessments and benchmarks, providing regular opportunities to:
Review and as necessary revise current policies and procedures to maintain current best practice
Implement new standards as they are released
Provide essential information and actions for the planning, maintenance and preparation for updated and new accreditations
Provide senior management with an overall view of quality and risk management within each hospital
Routinely identify areas for actions
Implement any corrective actions in a timely manner
Our complaints policy and procedure
At General Healthcare Group (GHG), we promise to listen carefully to patients and residents and investigate and learn from any comment or complaint they make to us.
We strive to investigate thoroughly and impartially, and to resolve any dispute with honesty, fairness and sensitivity. This is particularly important because of the nature and personal impact of the services provided in the health care sector.
For BMI Healthcare, feedback from patients, residents, their families, clinicians, employees or any other source are an integral part of our quality procedures, feeding into our cycle of continuous learning and improvement.
Most comments and complaints can be resolved at the individual hospital, providing rapid response in terms of communication and, as appropriate, changes in the way in which services and care are delivered locally. In all cases investigations include relevant procedural checks to assure conformity with quality standards and protocols.
Even those comments and complaints resolved at a local level are reported upwards regionally to add to learning throughout the organisation. Any complaints or comments that cannot be resolved locally are escalated through specific procedures relevant to acute surgical care as necessary to external, independent review processes that provide timely adjudication for any unresolved disputes.
National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) produces guidelines for clinicians about which treatments work best and acts as a national appraisal body for new and existing treatments.
NICE also promotes cost effectiveness through guidance and audit and advises on and disseminates best practice. Although we are not governed by the financial implications imposed by NICE on the NHS, the work of NICE is used to inform clinicians of best practice and its use encouraged throughout BMI Healthcare.
