Appearance medicine clinic ahead with DAA accreditation
As a Registered nurse responsible initially for working as a theatre nurse and laser nurse specialist, I have branched out and learned the role of quality improvement. This role has snowballed from completing the occasional audit and data entry for Dr Barrett some 7-8 years ago, to completing the first full accreditation process in 2011.
Whilst Appearance Medicine facilities in New Zealand do not need to be accredited, Dr. Barrett had a vision to be one step ahead of the game and be fully prepared for when it becomes mandatory in New Zealand.
Palm Clinic is accredited to the standard of a day hospital, giving customers the confidence that they are receiving a service by qualified staff, who have worked hard to put systems in place, to meet the requirements of care and service delivery at a national and international level.
Palm Clinic at the top of its game
While the topic of accreditation and quality improvement is rather AAHHHHH yawn, yawn … it has relevance to everything we do and say these days, as people become more vocal about their rights. The right to complain; the right to be treated with respect; the right to a second opinion.
To ensure that customers’ rights are met, we must look at our processes and systems to ensure we provide quality services with minimal risk factors.
Palm Clinic is a small group of like-minded people who are passionate about delivering a service that is safe, efficient, timely, effective and accessible.
To do this we look at what services the customer wants, and how to provide this service with health and safety in mind. These services are continuously evaluated to ensure we are meeting the satisfaction and standards of the customer, health and safety regulations and our professional regulating bodies.
Providing quality service
DAA Group has been employed to assess that Palm Clinic provide this quality service. If DAA are not satisfied we are making the grade, they will not accredit us. This means all the Palm Clinic staff, from those who answer your initial phone call to the person who scrubs the floor at the end of the day, are continuously being assessed and evaluated so we stay on track.
Who is DAA Group?
DAA are a Designated Auditing Agency, who are one of New Zealand’s leading providers of quality and risk management auditing services to the health and disability sector. They work with hospital, age-related residential, residential disability and non-residential community service providers, fostering, encouraging, and celebrating quality.
As an established and trusted assessment and evaluation agency, they can help you through every step of the certification/accreditation process.
The team of trained health assessors and evaluators, along with the office-based team, are committed to helping you achieve safe services, positive outcomes and to support continuous improvement. DAA is led by health and disability professionals, for health and disability professionals.
DAA Group Mission statement
To improve health outcomes for New Zealanders by partnering with health and disability services that focus on continuous quality improvement, to enable the delivery of high quality services.
Our future plan
Here at Palm Clinic we strive to continue to provide quality care and services so we value feedback as a form of evaluation of our services.
If you feel we are not giving the right care or service, or there is anything that customers wish to discuss with us, we want to hear from you. You may do so by contacting Dr Sam Dunn, the Medical Director or completing an anonymous complaints form.
We have HDC pamphlets available in reception for more information on patients’ rights. Or you can contact reception for more information.
So there you have it – you now know what I mostly do and how I love the challenge of keeping this clinic and its customers safe and wanting to return.
