National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards Version 2: Consultation Draft – Response to the Consultation Draft

This response to the consultation draft of version 2 of the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards maintains that the Draft Standards miss an opportunity to embed health and medical research in the delivery of health care. Research Australia notes that the Medical Research Future Fund is expected to provide an additional $1 billion a year by 2022 for research addressing national health priorities, an aim that requires partnerships between health services, researchers and innovators, and that proven treatments can take 10 to 20 years to become routine practice. It identifies two ways research improves safety and quality, the adoption of research findings and active engagement between researchers and health services, and observes that the Draft Standards barely mention evidence-based practice. Working through the roles described in the Draft Standards, it recommends recognising consumers as partners in research; emphasising clinicians’ professional engagement, their role in identifying gaps in the evidence base and the value of clinician researchers; recognising managers’ responsibility for data systems, access to data for monitoring, quality improvement and research, flexible work practices for clinicians who want to do research, and continuing professional development; drawing on research in the Partnering with Consumers and Communicating for Safety standards; and requiring governing bodies to recognise research participation in organisational strategy. It links these proposals to the 2013 Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research chaired by Simon McKeon.