Open4Results – December 2018

Our six-monthly report on the harm prevented, and money saved, in areas the Health Quality & Safety Commission focuses on or raises awareness about.

These successes are a result of the work and commitment of the whole sector to improve patient safety and save lives.

In this update:

• Since June 2013, there were 124 fewer falls resulting in a broken hip and an estimated $5.8 million saved.
• Since January 2013, 334 DVT/PE cases have been avoided, with $7.0 million saved.
• Since August 2015, there has been a reduction in surgical site infection rates from 1.2 percent of operations to 0.9 percent of operations. This equates to 94 fewer infections between August 2015 and June 2018, saving up to $3.8 million.
• Since January 2013, fewer older people have been repeatedly admitted to hospital. There have been 138,000 fewer bed-days and $106 million saved.
• Since 2010, there have been 896 fewer deaths of children (aged between 28 days and 24 years). Much of this reduction has been driven by work around sudden unexpected death in infancy, and fewer road traffic crashes involving young people.