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The national roll-out will be staggered across three cohorts from July 2015 through January 2017. Staggering allows:

  • the Commission to work the organisations which are ready to implement in the first instance, and spread change as others are ready
  • for the establishment and support of regional hubs for sustained improvement
  • for adequate preparation time, as identified by the proof of concept project as being essential.

DHBs advised the Commission of their preferred cohort. The cohort members are:

It is expected that private surgical hospitals will work with their local DHB to implement the interventions.

The roll-out timeframe ensures each of the three cohorts have a three month preparation period and nine-month implementation period. The preparation period for cohort two and three has been extended to account for December and January.

It is anticipated that, by the end of the implementation period, cohort members will have embedded the paperless checklist into usual practice (considering local circumstances) and started implementing briefing and debriefing.

Each cohort will be supported by the programme team and will include:

  • copies of Improving surgical teamwork and communication – a guide to preparing and implementing
  • cohort specific webinars/ conference calls
  • hosting a learning session during the preparation period:
    • cohort one – Auckland, August 2015
    • cohort two – Wellington, November 2015
    • cohort three – Christchurch, February 2016
  • on-site intervention training
  • on-site visits to cohort member and telephone calls as required
  • regular newsletters and emails to share learning
  • printed and downloadable resources to assist implementation as required
  • on-site auditor train-the-trainer session
  • quality improvement advice and assistance
  • national clinical leadership.

Related Resources

Last updated: 13th November, 2021