Hats off to the surgical teams at Lions Gate
The surgical teams at Lions Gate Hospital have been recognized for the quality of surgical care they provide by the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP).
NSQIP is a rigorous data collection program VCH and 500 hospitals in Canada, the US and worldwide use to measure surgical outcomes including pneumonia, surgical site infections, DVT, urinary tract infections and more.
Lions Gate is one of 37 hospitals recognized for its performance in these areas. “Being recognized in the top 10% is a significant honour for us and reaffirms that everyone is working really hard to provide the very best surgical care for our patients.” says Dr Ramesh L. Sahjpaul, chief, department of surgery and medical director, surgery program Lions Gate Hospital.
How the data is making a difference
“NSQIP data allows us to see where we are doing well and where we can improve so that we can concentrate our efforts and resources in the right areas.” says Dr Sahjpaul. Surgical teams at Lions Gate meet monthly to discuss a range of quality and patient safety topics. They use NSQIP data to monitor their own performance and compare it to other hospitals using NSQIP. “We’re competitive and we don’t want the other hospitals to do better than us, so it keeps us motivated do better.” Pam Williamson, RN Lions Gate Hospital OR.
Last year, the teams at Lions Gate noticed they weren’t doing as well as they wanted to in the rates of surgical site infections, so they put their heads together to find a solution. Thanks to a grant from the BC Quality and Patient Safety Council, they spent five weeks this summer observing how best practices were being applied in the OR, daycare and recovery rooms.
“We really feel like we have just started. Quality improvement takes time and it is an ongoing commitment for us.” says Irene Siu, clinical quality & safety coordinator. Although it’s too early to tell what the research will show, “We can already see the value in the interest and awareness it has created among the team and the opportunity it gave everyone to work together and step back to be more reflective of our day-to-day routine,” says Irene.
About NSQIP
NSQIP was developed by the Veteran’s Health Administration during the 1990’s after it was criticized for high mortality rates. By 2003, Veteran’s Health reduced its surgical mortality by 27% and morbidity by 45%. Building on this success, the American College of Surgeons expanded the program, which is now used in approximately 500 hospitals worldwide including the US, Canada, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.
After Surrey Memorial adopted NSQIP in 2006 and improved their rates of SSI and UTI, the Ministry of Health took note. Today, 24 BC hospitals participate in NSQIP with 33 sites in Canada, including 5 in Ontario, 2 in Quebec, 2 in Newfoundland and 5 in Alberta.
NSQIP and quality and safety at VCH
The team at Lions Gate Hospital is one of many teams across VCH working hard on quality initiatives. Vancouver General, UBC and Richmond hospitals are also part of the regional NSQIP program. NSQIP is part of VCH’s larger quality and safety initiatives that you have read about here in VCH News including CAUTI, Cdiff, LEAN and Releasing Time to Care, just to name a few.
Learn more about Lions Gate Hospital’s award
Use NSQIP to measure the quality of your surgical programs
Contact the NSQIP team and we’ll provide you with the data you need and help you use it to measure and improve the quality of your surgical programs.