Health Services Act 1988

The Chief Quality and Safety Officer may conduct a review of the quality and safety of services provided in or by one or more health service entities if the Chief Quality and Safety Officer is of the opinion that one or more of the following grounds apply—

the health, safety or wellbeing of a person is or was endangered as a result of the provision of the services; or

the review may assist to identify organisational or physical structures, functions, workplace culture and outcomes of the provision of health services that could be improved; or

the review may assist to identify systemic issues or trends that may be addressed in order to improve the quality and safety of the provision of health services.

The Secretary may request the Chief Quality and Safety Officer to conduct a review of the quality and safety of services provided in or by one or more health service entities if the Secretary considers that one or more of the grounds set out in subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c) apply.

After having regard to the matters specified in subsection (4), the Chief Quality and Safety Officer—

must determine whether a review under subsection (1) or (2) is to be conducted as—

a standard quality and safety review; or

a protected quality and safety review; and

may terminate a standard quality and safety review at any time and commence a protected quality and safety review in respect of the same subject matter.

For the purposes of determining whether the circumstances warrant that a protected quality and safety review be conducted, the Chief Quality and Safety Officer must consider the reasonableness and necessity of providing additional protections to ensure open and honest engagement with the review process by persons involved in the services being reviewed having regard to the reputation, privacy, safety and wellbeing of those persons.

The purposes of a quality and safety review are—

to collect and analyse information relating to the quality and safety of the health service entity that is the subject of the review; and

to monitor and review the quality and safety of the health service entity that is the subject of the review including any health, safety or wellbeing issues that may place a person at risk; and

to identify the factors that may have led or contributed to any event, including the following—

any relevant factors that are external to the health service entities involved in the event;

organisational and management factors relating to the health service entities involved in the event;

working environment factors, including the assignment and performance of tasks, technology used by the health service entities, team management and staffing allocation;

factors relating to the patients to whom health services were provided by the health services involved in the event; and

to provide a report to the Secretary in accordance with section 128D.

Subject to this Part, the process for conducting a quality and safety review is determined at the discretion of the Chief Quality and Safety Officer.