About us

The improving leadership and capability programme puts quality and safety at the heart of New Zealand’s health and disability services.

This involves:

‘the combined unceasing efforts of everyone – health care professionals, patients and their families, researchers, payers, planners and educators – to make changes that will lead to better patient outcomes (health), better system performance (care) and better professional development (learning).’ (Batalden and Davidoff 2007)

A capable health care workforce recognises quality and safety as top priorities for building a more resilient health care system. Together with patients, they apply their collective knowledge and skills to organise care around the patient and to take the next step to continually improve the reliability and safety of care.

The Triple Aim

The Health Quality & Safety Commission recognises that safer and better quality care occurs when those in governance and management, health practitioners and consumers work together at all levels of the health system with a common purpose. This is reflected in the three dimensions of the Triple Aim.

Achieving the Triple Aim requires more than technical knowledge and skills. It needs a capable workforce that can adapt to meet the changing needs of the complex health care environment. This can only occur in a system where patient safety and experience of care are top priorities.

The Commission clearly identifies building sector leadership and capability as one of our strategic priorities to assist the sector to effect change. Together with consumer engagement and evaluation, building leadership and capability in quality and safety underpins all of the Commission’s programmes.