Contact: Shirley Mowat; Peter Tyler
Tuesday, January 27, 1998.
CREDIT’S DUE TO NEERIM HOSPITAL - ROB KNOWLES
The Neerim District Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital has maintained its high standards of health care, the Health & Aged Care Minister, Rob Knowles said today.
In a ceremony at the hospital to mark the awarding of its full accreditation by the Australian Council of Health Care Standards, Mr Knowles said a strong network of private hospitals complemented Victoria’s public hospital system.
“The Certificate of Accreditation is a public symbol that the hospital has volunteered to have its quality of health care compared with ACHCS national standards and has been found by senior practising health care professionals to have complied with these standards,” Mr Knowles said.
For the health industry, the accreditation of hospitals has evolved as the dominant means of reviewing health facilities, he said.
Accreditation is the process of auditing an organisation by an external body to assess quality of care and performance against a series of predetermined standards or criteria.
Mr Knowles said the State Government is committed to improving the quality of health services available to rural Victorians, and the ACHCS accreditation makes a practical contribution to meeting this goal.
“Once an organisation has achieved accredited status, it has satisfied the requirements of the independent third party,” Mr Knowles said.
“The award is well recognised within the health care industry as representing the achievement of not only current quality standards, but also ongoing quality through a continuous improvement program.
“The Neerim District Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital and the local community can feel a sense of pride and achievement in being awarded accreditation, and shows that rural health care facilities continue to maintain a key role in their communities.”
Mr Knowles said the small private hospital, at Neerim South, has worked closely with its community to ensure it remains competitive in today’s dynamic health care arena. It has 20 nursing home beds and 20 hospital beds, and offers the local community general, endoscopy, gynaecology, urology and ophthalmology surgery, as well as medical services and aged care.
NOTE:Time & venue of the launch: - 5pm today (Tuesday), Neerim District Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, Main Rd. Neerim South.
Media inquiries:
Graeme Walker, Department of Human Services, Media Unit (03) 9616 7296.
Serena Williams, Press Secretary (03) 9651 5799; 0412 683 876.
(F:press/Neerim/gw/23.1.98)