National standard to ease the pain and silence of stillbirth

From left: Host Tegan Taylor with expert panellists Professor David Ellwood, Professor Caroline Homer, A/Professor Liz Marles, Deanna Stuart-Butler and Professor Adrianne Gordon.

It was a meeting of minds at the Commission's launch of Australia's first standard of care for stillbirth on 4 November at the Annual National Stillbirth Forum 2022. Eminent experts in maternity care and childbirth took part in a live panel discussion on the challenge of Australia’s high stillbirth rates, which have remained steady for about 20 years.

The Stillbirth Clinical Care Standard – developed by the Commission with Department of Health and Ageing funding and endorsed by 26 health and consumer organisations – describes best practice in prevention, investigations after stillbirth and bereavement care.  

Stillbirth affects 2,000 Australian families each year. The Standard has been described as a turning point for maternity care and is expected to have a far-reaching, positive impact on families. Download the Standard, read this Croakey article and watch the webcast.

New standards for community managed organisations

The first National Safety and Quality Mental Health Standards for Community Managed Organisations (CMOs) are launching via webcast on 23 November.

Register for this event to hear from a range of speakers about how this contemporary set of standards – specific to mental health services provided by CMOs – will benefit consumers, how mental health CMOs can implement them, and the next steps for accreditation. Unmissable for any provider of a mental health service in a CMO.

Active approach to break the cycle of low back pain

The Low Back Pain Clinical Care Standard released in September provides a road map for practitioners to help patients manage low back pain episodes early and reduce their chance of ongoing problems.

Advocating a shift towards active approaches to support the one in six Australians with low back pain, the standard outlines optimal patient care and has drawn overwhelming support from across healthcare disciplines. 

While the standard focuses on treatment in primary care and the emergency department, it is relevant to all healthcare professionals involved in the early management of people with low back pain. Access the standard and resources and view the launch recording.

Examining variation in high-risk medicines dispensing

The Commission is using trend data from our new Atlas Time Series Reports to work with Primary Health Networks (PHNs) that have shown consistently high rates of opioid and antipsychotic medicines dispensing over the past five years.

The reports capture dispensing of opioid medicines (all ages) and antipsychotic medicines (65 years and over) based on PBS data for the five years to 2020–21. The Commission is meeting with PHNs to explore ways to reduce the inappropriate use of opioids and antipsychotic medicines.

Use the reports to examine dispensing in your local area, help identify areas that may benefit from further investigation and inform development of targeted strategies to improve the appropriate prescribing of these high-risk medicines. 

Get proactive in reviewing clinical variation in your area

Our User Guide for Reviewing Clinical Variation is now in an interactive format, so health services can use our six-step approach to improve care more easily.

The guide also provides practical case studies that put those steps into action, show best practice and allow for peer comparison between services. 

Among the latest case studies in the User Guide are: preventing severe perineal trauma in childbirth; reducing preterm and planned early term births; and improving quality of end-of-life care. To contribute a case study, contact atlas@safetyandquality.gov.au.

Have your say on clinical care in aged care settings

Public consultation on the revised Aged Care Quality Standards is underway. The Commission is reviewing the Standard 5 - Clinical Care component and seeking feedback from older people, their families, carers, and the health and aged care sectors.

To have input on the revised Aged Care Quality Standards, register for an online focus group and complete the survey before submissions close on 25 November.

Have your say via the Ageing and Aged Care Engagement Hub.

Quick Bites

End-of-Life Essentials launch new education platform

End-of-Life Essentials has launched a new education platform to provide learners with education and resources to deliver quality end-of-life care. The free education project includes two Accreditation and Management modules. The first module, Meeting the Standards, focuses on end-of-life care actions in the NSQHS Standards Comprehensive Care Standard; and the second, Clinical Change Management, focuses on a good understanding of your hospital and quality of end-of-life care.  

Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2022

From 18 to 24 November every year, World Antimicrobial Awareness Week is held to raise awareness of antimicrobial resistance and promote the responsible use of antimicrobials. This year's slogan is Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together for the food, animal, agriculture and human health sectors. Find practical information and access Commission resources on our dedicated AAW 2022 web page. 

World Patient Safety Day spotlights medication safety

The Commission shared exemplar medication safety posters from health services around Australia to mark World Patient Safety Day 2022 on 17 September. The World Health Organization initiative calls for global solidarity in the improvement of patient safety. This year's theme was Medication Safety – 'Medication Without Harm', to address the three flagship areas of Polypharmacy, High-risk Medicines and Transitions of Care. See our web page for additional insights, and view the medication safety showcase.

Careers at the Commission

Meet Alice Bhasale, Director, Clinical Care Standards

What is your role, in 25 words or less?

I'm responsible for the Clinical Care Standards Program at the Commission, overseeing the development of clinical care standards to support quality improvement for a broad range of clinical topics.

What did you do before the Commission?

I have a background in research, training and working originally as a psychologist in the community and then working in general practice research for many years. Prior to joining the Commission in 2013, I worked at NPS MedicineWise for 10 years where I led a team developing evidence-based materials for clinicians and consumers.

What was your first job?

Working in a deli, which gave me the ability to add up numbers with a pen and paper, to upsell specials and gave me a life-long aversion to cold meats. My first professional role was as a counsellor in a community health centre in Sydney’s South West.

What is it like working at the Commission?

It’s a privilege to work in an organisation with such an important mission and to be able to support consumers and clinicians around Australia. Highlights for me firstly are the people I work with at the Commission (especially my wonderful team) and secondly the inspiring, dedicated, and passionate health professionals and consumers around Australia who contribute to developing our standards and who implement them.

What are the top three things on your to-do list?

1. A new clinical care standard to reduce inappropriate use of psychotropic medicines in people with cognitive impairment or disability.
2. Reviews of our standards for hip fracture care, heavy menstrual bleeding and osteoarthritis of the knee.
3. Embedding cultural safety and equity components into new and revised clinical care standards.

What are you looking forward to in the coming year?

• Starting some new clinical care standards – such as for COPD
• Continuing to evolve our clinical care standards
• A summer break without rain or lockdowns (fingers crossed!)