The Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) is a key component of the Excellent Care for All Act, 2010 (ECFAA). The QIP is intended to outline an organization’s priorities for quality improvement and articulate a strategy for implementation.

Beginning April 1, 2011, and in every fiscal year thereafter, healthcare organizations are required to develop and publicly post a QIP. Under the legislation, a copy of the QIP will also need to be shared with the Ontario Health Quality Council (OHQC).

Quality Improvement Plan Short Form - 2011/12

Quality Improvement Plan Spreadsheet - 2011/12

A balanced scorecard is a framework that translates strategic directions into a set of performance measures that help indicate how well an organization doing.  It is called “balanced” because ideally, the scorecard should include measures from all aspects of the business, and should include both long and short-term indicators.

The TSH balanced scorecard includes measures from each of our four strategic directions. Some of the measures were chosen specifically by TSH’s executive team while others are publicly reported indicators that TSH is mandated by the province to include. Obviously, a balanced scorecard cannot measure every aspect of a business, but overall, it is a good indicator of an organization’s strengths and weaknesses.

TSH’s scorecard, which is updated quarterly, is presented to The Scarborough Hospital’s Board of Directors who uses it to monitor the progress of the hospital. It is also posted on the hospital’s website  as part of TSH’s commitment to transparency and public accountability.

Each indicator includes a target or benchmark and the red, yellow and green colour coding tells viewers at a glance whether or not TSH is meeting the benchmark. Where an indicator is not meeting the benchmark an action plan is created. This plan outlines activities and programs that have been started to ensure that performance improves on that indicator.

To review the The Scarborough Hospital’s Balanced Scorecard please click here. (Please note, this PDF is approximately 4.5MB in size)

Accreditation is an internationally recognized and respected evaluation process used by many countries worldwide to assess the quality of health services.

Health and social service organizations that participate in Accreditation Canada’s program are evaluating their performance against national standards of excellence. These standards examine all aspects of health care, from patient safety and ethics, to staff training and partnering with the community.

Organizations like The Scarborough Hospital voluntarily participate in the accreditation program. They devote time and resources to learn how to improve what they are doing so they can provide the best possible care and service to their patients and clients.

The Accreditation Canada certificate shows that the organization cares about patient safety and providing quality service. It means the organization was assessed by its peers, met or exceeded national standards of excellence, and continues to strive for high quality health care.

The Scarborough Hospital most recently achieved a full three-year accreditation in October 2009. For more information on this process, please see the Accreditation Canada website at www.accreditation-canada.ca.