HQC’s progress on strategic priorities highlighted in annual report

During 2020-21, the Saskatchewan Health Quality Council (HQC) continued to support Saskatchewan’s health care system through education, improvement initiatives, and research.

HQC’s annual report, tabled in provincial Legislature on July 29, 2021, contains an overview of the work the organization led and participated in over the past year towards accelerating improvement in the quality of health and health care in Saskatchewan. 

Health Quality Council CEO Tracey Sherin said being nimble in how HQC met the changing needs and priorities of the health system was a theme of HQC’s work this year.

“This past year saw our health system rise to the challenge of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and we needed to be agile throughout the year to meet the changing needs of our partners and program participants. Maintaining this level of nimbleness during a time of uncertainty demonstrated our resilience and a commitment to continuous improvement,” Sherin said. “This year, we also continued to make progress on our strategy to enhance First Nations and Métis health and to address the social determinants of health through a focus on mental health and wellness for children, youth, and their families.”

Work highlighted in the annual report includes:

• Supporting the Saskatchewan Health Authority in its COVID-19 response initiatives (Page 29).
• Producing evidence to support improvement in health care through 13 published research papers across a variety of topics (Pages 36-38).
• Bringing together a panel of patients, providers, and health system leaders to explore the impact of virtual care in Saskatchewan from a quality improvement perspective (Page 34).
• Developing and launching the Community QI Collective with participants form community-based organizations (CBOs) and governmental organizations (Page 31).
• Providing measurement and evaluation support to the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in understanding and interpretating coroner’s data on suicides in Saskatchewan using publicly available data (Page 39).
• Collaborating with George Gordon First Nation leadership and operations staff on the creation of a community health and wellness survey for community members (Page 35).

“The HQC team continues to forge a strong path through its work and relationships with partners to find ways to improve the quality of care and experience within the health system in Saskatchewan. HQC’s priority areas of work help tackle alarming trends related to mental health and substance use disorders, as well as the significant health disparities between Indigenous Peoples and the non-Indigenous population,” said Dr. Susan Shaw, HQC Board Chair, adding HQC has also continued to support the advancement of Saskatchewan health system priorities including improving team-based care in the community.

“As we look ahead, we have a chance to determine what Saskatchewan’s “new normal” will become.  I am not only confident in HQC, but in our health system partners and the people of Saskatchewan. I know and have seen what we can achieve when we work together.”

To view a copy of the 2020-21 HQC Annual Report, please click here.