25 Jan 2018 | Primary Care
Six primary care provider teams are about to embark on a year of improvement as Whakakotahi 2018 kicks off.
The Whakakotahi initiative is designed and driven by the primary care sector. Providers identify areas they want to improve in their practice. They are supported by the Commission to learn about and implement quality improvement methods.
The project teams work with consumers/whānau and other providers and community groups to design the quality improvement approach and adapt it to their local context. Learnings are shared with the primary care sector and broader health and quality improvement communities.
The successful projects for 2018 are:
A member of each project team is enrolled in the Primary Care Quality Improvement Facilitator programme (PCIF), delivered by Ko Awatea and the Commission's primary care and capability programmes. The course begins on 23 January. Members of the primary care programme team will visit each Whakakotahi project site in early March.
Dr John Wellingham, a practising GP and member of the Whakakotahi selection panel and chair of the Commission’s Primary Care Expert Advisory Group, says, 'Congratulations to the providers selected. The Commission looks forward to building on our learnings from the first year of Whakakotahi, sharing our quality improvement knowledge and resources, and learning from the experience of the teams as we support their projects’.
Jane Cullen, Quality Improvement Advisor to the Commission, says ‘I’m really looking forward to working with the successful teams this year. Based on the high caliber, exciting proposals presented by all of the applicants this year, I strongly encourage everyone to reapply next year and consider enrolling in the PCIF. It’s been amazing to see the wonderful improvement work that providers are developing.’