BHB celebrates accreditation decision

Sunday 9 June 2024: Bermuda Hospitals Board has achieved accreditation in its 14th onsite survey by Accreditation Canada. The organisation has been accredited since the 1970s.

“Today is World Accreditation Day, and I am proud to announce that BHB has met all of the requirements for accreditation,” said BHB CEO and President R Scott Pearman. “It’s quite an achievement that the staff managed to maintain these rigorous standards during the 2019-2023 accreditation cycle, while working non-stop through a global pandemic, significant healthcare cost containment pressures and implementing an organisation-wide electronic medical record system that radically changed our way of working.”

From 6-10 November 2023, four independent surveyors assessed BHB against 26 sets of healthcare standards, 35 priority processes and 30 required organisational practices, a total of almost 3,800 applicable criteria. They spent time at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute, Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre and BHB’s group homes, observing staff, reviewing documents and files, and interviewing staff, patients and community partners.

The surveyors’ findings were then reviewed thoroughly by the Accreditation Canada team before an accreditation decision and preliminary report were issued. The decision committee requested the submission of additional evidence for some of the criteria, issuing their final decision of ‘Accredited’ in May 2024.

In their decision letter, the Accreditation Decision Committee said: “We congratulate you on this achievement that demonstrates your organization’s determination and commitment to ongoing quality improvement. We applaud your leadership, staff, and accreditation team members for their efforts and dedication to the provision of safe, quality health services.”

Mr Pearman said: “In addition to praising our pandemic response and successful electronic medical record implementation, the surveyors highlighted our adaptive and caring workforce, improvements in our laundry and pharmacy, and our 2021-2026 strategic planning process.

“They also commended our work on integrated healthcare pathways and our continuing efforts to develop integrated care in the community to reduce the need for emergency care and admissions for chronic diseases.

“However, the most important part of the accreditation process is its role in our vision ‘to pursue excellence through improvement, to make Bermuda proud.’ The surveyors bring a wealth of knowledge from healthcare organisations around the globe, helping us identify challenges and recommending improvements large and small.”

Chief of Nursing Judy Richardson added: “We have already started to investigate and implement many of their recommendations, building on work that began after the 2019 survey.

“Quality begins at the unit level, and we are continuing to roll out unit-based quality and safety teams throughout the organisation, including in non-clinical areas. We are also planning the expansion of our Wards of Excellence evaluation programme. Both programmes encourage creativity and collaboration in making improvements on the units, and sharing our successes and lessons learned.”

Mr Pearman said: “Another key change we have made since the survey is the introduction of our Quality and Innovation Committee, which will prioritise our work to further reinforce the accreditation standards in our everyday operations, to improve the quality and safety of the services we provide.

“Notably, we are leveraging PEARL, our electronic medical records system, to improve communication between hospital physicians and our patients’ physicians in the community, particularly their general practitioners.

“We are also moving ahead with our people-centred care strategy. The surveyors noted that patient-centred care is already well established at the treatment level. The strategy aims to incorporate the voices of patients and families at every level of decision making.”

Mrs Richardson said: “The staff are dedicated to providing the best possible care for our community every day. On top of that, they put in an incredible effort to ensure we were ready for accreditation, with every ‘i’ dotted and ‘t’ crossed. Since the survey, they have been busy putting the surveyors’ recommendations into practice with the help of our expert quality team. Like Scott, I am incredibly proud of our staff and our hospitals.”

Accreditation Canada will continue to work with BHB throughout the four-year accreditation cycle, reviewing evidence related to unmet criteria, providing feedback, and monitoring standards and practices to ensure the organisation continues to perform at the expected level.

Accreditation Canada is a non-profit organisation that works with the Ottawa-based Health Standards Organization, healthcare providers, policy makers and patients to improve the quality of healthcare services. More than 1,100 health and social service organisations in Canada and around the world have been accredited by Accreditation Canada with a goal of safer, high-quality healthcare. Accreditation Canada surveyors are volunteers who are healthcare professionals in senior clinical or administrative roles at other accredited organisations.

The accreditation report, decision letters and survey comparison table are available on the BHB website at bermudahospitals.bm > About BHB > Providing Safe Care (bermudahospitals.bm/about-us/about-us/quality-care-and-patient-safety/).

In addition to organisation-wide accreditation by Accreditation Canada, the BHB Pathology Department is accredited by Joint Commission International (JCI), the Mammography Department is accredited by American College of Radiology (ACR), the Turning Point Substance Abuse Programme is accredited by Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), and the Primary Stroke Centre achieved a Certificate of Distinction from Accreditation Canada.

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