Mortality Review Committees now part of Health Quality & Safety Commission

New Zealand’s four Mortality Review Committees are now operating under the umbrella of the Health Quality & Safety Commission.

“The Commission is very pleased to have these committees in our fold. Their work makes an extremely valuable contribution to quality and system improvements within the health sector, and in other sectors,” says Commission Chief Executive Dr Janice Wilson.

The mortality review committees were established under sections 11 and 8 of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000. In 2010 the Act was amended, making the committees the responsibility of the Health Quality & Safety Commission from 23 April 2011.

As well as the four committees, there are sub-groups in every district involved in quality improvement working across local communities and within District Health Boards (DHBs). Each committee has a website which can be accessed via the Commission’s website, www.hqsc.govt.nz.

The four committees are:

• Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee (CYMRC), which reviews the deaths of children and young people aged 28 days up to 25 years, to learn from these deaths and make similar deaths less likely in the future. • Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee (PMMRC), which reviews the deaths of babies up to 28 days of age and mothers in New Zealand • Perioperative Mortality Review Committee (POMRC), which reviews deaths following any invasive procedure and deaths following anaesthesia (local, regional or general) • Family Violence Death Review Committee (FVDRC), which reviews all deaths related to family violence in New Zealand.

Dr Nick Baker, Chair of the Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee, says the committee and the Health Quality & Safety Commission share the same aim of improving the health of New Zealanders.

“Mortality review is about learning from tragedy and changing the way things are done – often with changes in systems across the whole community. It is not about blame. The new arrangements will strengthen our relationships with the quality teams in the health sector while allowing our work with other sectors to grow.”

Professor Iain Martin, Chair of the Perioperative Mortality Review Committee, also welcomes the new arrangements.

“We are looking forward to working with the Commission to drive improvements in the quality of care New Zealanders receive,” he says.

ENDS

© Scoop Media