Presidents Report 2018

MINUTES of the Annual General Meeting of the International Society for Quality in Health Care Company Limited by Guarantee held at Kuala Lumpur Centre, Malaysia on Monday 24th September 2018

 MINUTES of the Annual General Meeting of the International Society for Quality in Health Care Company Limited by Guarantee held at Kuala Lumpur Centre, Malaysia on Monday 24th September 2018

 

1: Notice of Meeting

The notice of the meeting having been published on 27th August 2018 to take place at this date and time, the President, Wendy Nicklin, declared the meeting formally open and welcomed all Members.

2: Apologies

Members present at the Annual General Meeting registered their attendance. Apologies were received from:

• Bruce Barraclough, Life Member, Australia
• Oliver Grone, Individual Member, Germany
• Sara Yaron, Individual Member, Israel
Proxies:
• Chair of the meeting to be proxy for Sara Yaron, Individual Member, Israel
• Chair of the meeting to be proxy for Oliver Grone, Individual Member, Germany
• Camilo Gutierrez Hart nominated on behalf of Organizaion para la Ecelencia de la Salude, Colombia
• Ibrahim Kayral nominated on behalf of Healthcare Quality Accreditation Institute, Turkey

3: Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting

Resolution
It was moved by Gary Smith, seconded by Brian Johnson, that the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 2nd October 2017 be accepted.
Carried

4. Report of the President

The President thanked those present for attending. ISQua is a very active organisation. Although the office is based in Dublin the network reaches far thanks to Members, Surveyors, Fellows, Experts, Academy and members of the Communities of Practice and Quality Improvement Network.

There have been several Board accomplishments. Following the Board retreat in March 2017 four short term sub committees of the Board were established to review Board governance to focus on four areas of governance which should be strengthened to improve the Boards effectiveness. Each sub committee met three to four times between April and June who then presented recommendations to the Board in July 2018. Some of these changes are reflected in the changes which are being presented to the Members for approval in the form of the Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association. All Board members actively participated in the process. The Strategic Plan was finalised for 2018 -2020 and further discussion on the Strategic Plan had been held with the Board in Kuala Lumpur. The strategies are:

• Building on our foundations and our success
• Develop interventions for quality and safety
• Develop programmes and expand impact in all regions
• Maintain, develop and foster strategic partnerships

The International Academy of Quality and Safety has been established with 35 inaugural members being elected. Sincerest thank you was extended to David Bates for his contribution and leadership.

In January 2018 Sara Yaron was appointed as Honorary Advisor on Person Centered Care, replacing Russell McGowan. Besides her Board member responsibility, Sara Chairs the Community of Practice on Person Centered Care. Special thanks were given to the Accreditation Council, chaired by Stephen Clark, its members who are involved in accrediting standards, and organisations who participate in the International Accreditation Programme (IAP). The IAP is one of ISQua’s core programmes.

A Board discussion on partnerships was held in Kuala Lumpur. We are proud of our partnerships with World Health Organisation, International Hospital Federation, Institute for Health Improvement and International Alliance of Patient Organisations to name a few. Effective partnerships are fundamental to ISQua’s work. Thank you to all those we work with and will continue to work with in years to come.

One year ago, the President gave a promise to focus on strengthening partnerships, strengthening governance effectiveness and enhancing global reach. The President was pleased to report that progress is being made in all of these areas.. ISQua will continue to be an organisation of escalating impact on quality and safety globally.

The President thanked the Members, Honorary Advisors and members of the Board who are truly committed to making a difference in healthcare quality and safety. The President thanked the CEO and the staff. The ISQua team are a wonderful team and it is in large part due to the staff team that ISQua is progressing. The President thanked Jeffrey Braithwaite, President Elect and Cliff Hughes, Immediate Past President for their ongoing assistance and partnership.

CEO Report

Peter Lachman, CEO, reported that two years ago the CEO reported on the importance of ISQua being an organisation of networks. The CEO reported on the following achievements:

  • New Website which was launched on 14th September 2018. The website has been designed to meet the needs of Members and Members were asked to provide their feedback. Sincere thanks was expressed to Sinead McArdle for her hard work.
  • European Union regulation has meant that an Association has to be set-up in Geneva to provide an office from where the International Accreditation Programme (IAP) is to be run. Changes to the Memorandum and Articles of Association were being presented to the Members for approval to allow for set-up of the new Association. Thanks was expressed to our partner, the International Hospital Federation, and in particular Eric de Roodenbeke for his invaluable assistance. Elaine O’Connor was also thanked for her due diligence and work in this area.
  • The IAP team were thanked including Elaine O’Connor, Heather Wilson, Nicola McAuley and Caitriona Curran who have ensured that the IAP is continuing to work with IAP organisations as well as update the standards i.e. Guidelines and Principles for the Development of Health and Social Care Standards and Guidelines and Standards for External Evaluation Organisations
  • The Kuala Lumpur conference has been a wonderful success with the CEO thanking ISQua’s partners, MSQH, presenters, exhibitors and delegates. The conference would not be possible without the commitment of both Eadin Murphy and Eleanor Keegan. Planning is underway for the Cape Town conference.
  • The Education programme continues to develop new activities with thanks to Yulianna Susla, Caroline Usher and Brian Cahill.
  • The CEO thanked all hosts around the world with whom ISQua has partnered on regional conferences including our Experts who have attended and presented at events around the globe.
  • The Communities of Practice (CoP) continue to grow with a new COP on Person Centered Care and Latin America. For the first time ISQua was able to offer Patient Scholarships for the conference. The conference has also received Patient Included accreditation.
  • The CEO thanked Deirdre Burke, Simon Donohoe, Sinead McArdle and Orla Corcoran for their “behind the scenes” work
  • Membership benefits had been reviewed which means that it is now more beneficial to be a member with the added benefits of being a Fellow. Individual Membership is growing.
  • Institutional Membership is remaining static and it is a challenge going forward to ensure that Institutional Members increase globally.

The CEO outlined the key challenges which were:

  • Additional financial pressures such as an increase in rental costs of €100K per annum. There will be discussions with the Irish Department of Health in 2019 with regards to ongoing support beyond 2020.
  • There are challenges to expand our global reach whilst ensuring that there is balance between work with upper income countries and with lower- and middle-income countries. There has been a slight increase in fees for those in upper income countries to support the decrease in fees for those in lower- and middle-income countries.
  • There has been an increase in workload for staff and flexible working has been introduced.

The IAP is the foundation of ISQua. The Board will continue to work with the Accreditation Council to ensure how we continue to do research and evidence-based work to expand the concept of meeting standards in all countries of the world. Knowledge management will harness the conference content and incorporate the conference content into the Education programme and also how we integrate content with the next conference. Members, QI networks and Communities of Practice and a focus on patients are the foundation of the organisation. The CEO thanked Shams Syed and Sheila Leatherman who will be working closely with Experts to provide policy advise and implementation of methodology. ISQua will be working with WHO to discuss in which area that ISQua can provide value such as Universal Quality Health Coverage, Maternal Child Health, Integrated Care, World Safety and National Quality Policy Strategies. The advisory services where we provide Experts to provide advice is a very important aspect of ISQua’ s work. The impact in the regions is being lead by the Communities of Practice (COP) and a thank you was expressed to Bruce Agins, Uma Kotagal, Sara Yaron and Ezequiel Garcia Elorrio for their work with the COPs. At the recent Board meeting there were presentations from partners such as WHO, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and International Hospital Federation. ISQua will also work with the International Alliance of Patient’s Organisations (IAPO).

5. Honorary Treasures Report

Jeffrey Braithwaite, Honorary Treasurer, reported that the financial statements for the year which ended 31st December 2017 had been circulated to the Members. The turnover for the organisation in 2017 was €2,270,003 which was a 1% increase on 2016. There was a loss recorded for 2017 which can be attributed to increase in office rental costs, staff recruitment, senior staff member redundancy and modernisation of staff salary structures. However, the organisation is solvent despite the reported loss. Fixed assets have increased by €64,815 due to the capital outlay for the website. Net current assets and liabilities reduced by €22,885 which was due to the working capital required to finance the website upgrade, redundancy payment and move to the new premises. There was an overall reduction in net assets of €164,039.

Resolution
It was moved by Carsten Engel, seconded by Christopher Cornue that the President’s Report, CEO report on the activity of the Company during the preceding year, including ISQua Strategy and Honorary Treasures Report be accepted.

Carried

6. Financial Statements for year ended 31st December 2017

Resolution
It was moved by Carsten Engel, seconded by Christopher Cornue that the report of the directors and the report of the statutory auditors on those statements and that the report, in each case for the financial year ended 31st December 2017 be accepted.

Carried

7: Appointment of Auditor

Resolution

It was moved by Leslee Thompson, seconded by David Bates that Crowe Ireland be approved to audit the ISQua accounts for year ended 31st December 2018.

Carried

7. Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association

Special Resolution No. 1:
It was proposed by Bruno Lucet and seconded by Jacqui Stewart that, subject to the approval of the Office of the Revenue Commissioners and the Charities Regulator, the following amendments to the Memorandum of Association of the Company, be approved, this resolution to take effect on the date immediately following the date of receipt by the Company of confirmation from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners and the Charities Regulator of no objection to the amendments proposed in the document referenced at Special Resolution 1 below and marked with an “X”:
(a) new Regulation 5h(i) 2 be added to the Memorandum of Association of the Company as follows:

‘To procure the establishment of Association(s) in any jurisdiction so as to enable the Company to provide services, via or through the engagement of such Association, that fall within the main object of this Company, but which Association(s) shall operate as a separate legal entity to the Company.’

and, in consequence, the former Regulations 5 of the Memorandum of Association be renumbered as Regulations 5 to 5(r) respectively.

Carried

Special Resolution No. 2
It was proposed by Leslee Thompson and seconded by Duncan Inverarity that, subject to the approval of the Office of the Revenue Commissioners and the Charities Regulator the Memorandum and Articles of Association forming the Constitution of the Company contained in the document presented to the Members and for the purposes of identification marked “X” on the front page thereof, be approved and adopted as the Memorandum and Articles of Association forming the Constitution of the Company, this resolution to take effect on the date immediately following the date of receipt by the Company of confirmation from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners and the Charities Regulator of no objection to the amendments proposed in the document referenced above, in substitution for and to the exclusion of the Memorandum and Articles of the Company which is in force at that date”.

Carried

10: Date of Next Annual General Meeting

Next Annual General Meeting is to be held on Monday 21st October 2019 in Cape Town.

Resolution
It was proposed by Bhupendra K Rana and seconded by Jacqui Stewart that the meeting be adjourned.

Carried

Members in attendance at the 2018 Annual General Meeting:

Individual and Life Members:
Aaron Abuosi, Ghana
Louise Acland, Australia
Bruce Agins, USA
Wafa Allouche, Tunisia
Rene Amalberti, France
David Bates, USA
Jeffrey Braithwaite, Australia
John Brennan, Ireland
Peter Carter, Australia
Akinoso Coker, Nigeria
Christopher Cornue, USA
Helen Crisp, United Kingdom
Philip Crowley, Ireland
Péricles Cruz, Brazil
Ezequiel Garcia Elorrio, Argentina
Carsten Engel, Denmark
Triona Fortune, Ireland
Fabio Leite Gastal, Brazil
Anne Hogden, Australia
Ravindran Jegasothy, Malaysia
Lee JaoHo, Republic of Korea
Carlos Hiran Goes de Souza, United Kingdom
Cliff Hughes, Australia
Duncan Inverarity, Ireland
William Jessee, USA
Brian Johnston, Australia
Yi Feng Lai, Singapore
Sheila Leatherman, USA
Andrew Likaka, Malawi
Jan Mackereth-Hill, United Kingdom
Russell McGowan, Australia
Mindi McKenna, USA
Maria Carolina Moreno, Brazil
Chung Wai Mun, Malaysia
David Nash, USA
Wendy Nicklin, Canada
Gail Nielsen, USA
Elom Otchi, Ghana
Noella Prasad, Australia
Bhupendra K Rana, India
James Robblee, Canada
Odet Sarabia, Mexico
Gary Smith, Australia
Sumihito Tamura, Japan
Shin Ushiro, Japan
David Vaughan, Ireland
Patricia Woodhead, UK

Institutional Members:
Accreditation Canada represented by Leslee Thompson, Canada
Asian Society for Quality in Health Care (ASQua) represented by Yuichi Imanaka, Taiwan
Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) represented by Lena Low, Australia
Australian General Practice Accreditation Ltd (AGPAL), represented by Stephen Clark, Australia
Canadian Patient Safety Institute represented by Christine Power, Canada
Council for Health Services Accreditation of Southern Africa (CoHSASA) represented by Jacqui Stewart, South Africa
GS1 Healthcare represented by Tania Snioch, Belgium
Haute Autorite de Sante (HAS), represented by Bruno Lucet, France
Healthcare Quality Accreditation Institute, represented by Ibrahim Kayral, Turkey
IKAS represented by Carsten Engel, Denmark
Instituto Brasileiro para Excelência em Saúde represented by Alexia Costa, Brazil
Joint Commission of Taiwan (JCT), represented by Pa-Chun Wang, Taiwan
Japan Council for Quality Health Care represented by Hirobumi Kawakita, Japan
Laboratory Medicine Foundation represented by Junghan Song, Republic of Korea
Netherlands Institute for Accreditation in Healthcare (NIAZ) represented by
Organizaion para la Ecelencia de la Salude represented by Camilo Gutierrez

Observers
Julia Hsu, Taiwan
Yuan-Chuan (Jack) Li, Taiwan
Christine Dennis, Australia
Vivian Giudice, Brazil
Norhaizam Mohammad, Malaysia
Len Notarus, Australia
Janez Ovsenik, Slovenia
Rajesh Saini, India
Figen Cizmeci Senel, Turkey
Tan Sri Siti, Malaysia
Sang Hoon Song, Republic of Korea
Maureen Williams, Australia

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Nourhan Kawtharani

Nourhan, a quality and safety coordinator with eight years of experience in ambulatory healthcare in Lebanon, aims to deepen her understanding of the systemic and holistic approach to healthcare through this fellowship.

She aims to identify gaps and develop tailored interventions that address specific contexts rather than applying general solutions. Engaging with diverse professionals and perspectives during this educational journey will expand the application of these concepts across different cultural settings.

Nourhan emphasizes the importance of promoting a culture of continuous learning and improvement within healthcare institutions, considering it a vital leadership responsibility to integrate quality and safety initiatives into the organizational culture.

Nourhan's commitment to patient safety and quality management includes sourcing practical resources and transforming insights into actionable knowledge to drive continued progress in healthcare practices and outcomes.

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Elom Otchi

Elom is passionate about improving quality of care and patient safety outcomes.

In view of this, he has had the opportunity to work in various capacities with various organisations including AfIHQSA, WHO, UNICEF and others undertaking research, supporting the development of national quality policies and strategies, facilitating the establishment of quality governance systems across all the levels of the health sector and building capacity of national and sub-national quality leads/teams to institutionalize the practice of quality and patient safety across the continent.

He has also worked extensively across all levels of care in the health sector of Ghana, including leading the Quality & Patient Safety program in its largest teaching hospital.

I would like to use this Fellowship as a learning platform and an opportunity to acquire the requisite knowledge, skills and competencies to complement ongoing efforts by like-minded individuals and organizations to continuously advance improve the quality and patient safety in Ghana and the continent.

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Stephen Taiye Balogun

Stephen is a Senior Programme Officer at the Institute of Human Virology in Nigeria as well as Country Representative for Health Information for All (HIFA).

Stephen plans to use this opportunity to maximise his impact by championing the cause of patient safety and quality in Nigeria and across Africa.

Stephen says "Quality and safety is a major wheel through which universal healthcare coverage can be achieved. The goal is to be a bridge in the gap between the International Quality Improvement and Patient Safety community and my country to ensure rapid spread, adoption, implementation and practice."

We are looking forward to working with both Stephen and our 2020 winner Rhoda Kalondu over the next year.

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Dr Rhoda Kalondu

Rhoda is the Head of the Patient Safety Unit at Kenyatta Hospital in Nairobi and wants to use this Fellowship to learn how to establish a culture of safety and develop systems for assessment and analysis at her institution, and more widely. As well as this, Rhoda intends to develop and execute an intervention to improve patient safety in Kenyatta National Hospital.

It is one thing to institute measures and processes for improvement, but quite another to change the culture of an environment. Rhoda's ambition to lead others in this change inspired the panel.

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Dr Subhrojyoti Bhowmick

I am an MBBS graduate from Calcutta University with a Gold Medal in Gynecology & Obstetrics.

I have completed M.D in Pharmacology from IPGME& R, Kolkata and have over 12 years of experience in the field of Clinical Research, Pharmacovigilance and Medication management in Hospitals.

I have completed certification in Clinical Research Administration & Project Management from Stanford University, USA and in Patient Safety from Johns Hopkins University, USA.

I am an Assessor for National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Health care providers (NABH), India assessing hospitals for medication safety and clinical quality standards and NABH Assessor for Ethics Committee Accreditation program in India as well.

I serve as the Chairperson, Institutional Ethics Committee of Health Point Hospital, Kolkata and am associated with 2 other Hospital ethics committees as a member.

I finished my Fellowship in Healthcare Quality from the International Society of Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) from Ireland in 2017.

I have published several research articles and have also authored a chapter on “Regulations governing Clinical Trial” in the book “Fundamentals of Clinical Trial & Research”.

I am a peer reviewer for prestigious international journals like the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, CNS Drugs and Drug Safety case reports.

I am the recipient of the UK Seth Oration Award for Best Clinical Pharmacology paper by the Indian Pharmacological Society in 2009 and the “Most promising Healthcare professional in Patient Safety in India” award by the Asian African Chamber of Commerce and Industry in October 2018.

Recently in April 2019, I received the Young Quality Achiever award by Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organizations (CAHO), India for 2019 for my work in the field of medication safety and clinical research.

I have a keen interest in teaching and am visiting adjunct faculty of Pharmacology at KMC, Mangalore, India and for Healthcare technology at MAKAUT, Kolkata, India.

I was associated with Stanford University School of Medicine, in the USA as a Senior Clinical Research Associate from 2015 to 2017 and have certification in Biostatistics, Evidence-based Medicine and Medical Writing from Stanford University.

Currently, I am working as the Clinical Director of Academics, Medical Quality and Clinical Research at Peerless Hospital and B K Roy Research Centre, Kolkata.

I am very happy and thrilled to receive the prestigious ISQua Lucian Leape Patient safety Fellowship Award for 2019 and I look forward to honing my skills further in the field of healthcare quality and patient safety through my experiences during this fellowship.

I sincerely believe that successful completion of this fellowship will help me evolve as a more confident Patient safety leader in India who in turn can provide significant inputs on policy changes through NABH for the Indian healthcare system.

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