Planning for sustainable health services

Tabled Report 16: 2020–21

Tabled date

2021-03-25

Report year

2020-21

Community welfare Health

Entities audited

Not identified in the published HTML audit scope.

Recommendations

1. QAO's text Addressed to: the Department of Health

   implements a comprehensive integrated planning framework in collaboration with hospital and health services (Chapters 3 and 4)

   This framework should:

   • explain and demonstrate the interrelationships between health service plans, enabling plans (for example workforce, infrastructure, and funding plans), and other plans (such as strategic and operational plans)
   • provide a common understanding of what a sustainable health system is
   • provide guidance on collaboration within Queensland Health and on best-practice consultation approaches with clinicians, consumers, and other stakeholders
   • provide guidance on best-practice implementation planning and design of appropriate evaluation techniques
   • provide guidance on appropriate reporting arrangements and governance structures to monitor and report progress against plans.

2. QAO's text Addressed to: the Department of Health

   develops a rolling, medium-term implementation roadmap to provide direction on how the outcomes in My health, Queensland’s future: Advancing health 2026 will be achieved (Chapter 4)

   This roadmap should:

   • clearly articulate the priorities at a system-wide level for a sustainable health system
   • allocate actions to agencies, with clear time frames
   • regularly evaluate success against clear performance indicators
   • learn from previous plans and respond to changes in the external environment.

   This should be undertaken in conjunction with implementing recommendation 14 of the Queensland Health governance review, which is about developing integrated plans for health services, workforce, and capital works.

3. QAO's text Addressed to: the Department of Health

   prepares, implements, and evaluates statewide workforce plans for all critical employee groups (Chapter 4)

4. QAO's text Addressed to: the Department of Health

   works with hospital and health services to strengthen the capability and capacity of the staff who support the planning process across the state (Chapter 4).

5. QAO's text Addressed to: all hospital and health services

   develop a set of priorities with clearer alignment to the statewide priorities (Chapter 3)

6. QAO's text Addressed to: all hospital and health services

   expand the scope of implementing recommendation 14 of the Queensland Health governance review by developing integrated plans at their level, also incorporating environmental action plans that align with the proposed framework in our recommendation 1 and statewide plans (Chapter 4)

7. QAO's text Addressed to: all hospital and health services

   develop appropriate performance indicators for health service and enabling plans, regularly evaluate the success of long‑term plans, and use learnings in future plans (Chapter 4).

Authoritative report — Queensland Audit Office

Report PDF on QAO