Commission on Excellence and Innovation in Health

Annual Report 2019-20 Overview: About the agency

Our purpose is to provide strategic leadership and advice on excellence and innovation in healthcare.

Back to the 2019-20 Annual Report

Overview: about the agency

Our strategic focus

Our Purpose

To provide strategic leadership and advice on excellence and innovation in healthcare.

We partner with consumers, carers, the wider community and the health workforce to improve care and safety, monitor performance, and champion evidence-based practice to improve health outcomes.

Our Vision

Together, let's create better healthcare for South Australians.

Our Values

Our values are the way we do things:

  • Treat people with compassion, honesty and respect
  • Strive for excellence in everything we do
  • Celebrate our successes, and the successes of others
  • Celebrate diversity of people and thinking
  • Learn from failure and actively seek feedback
  • Be responsive and adaptive
  • Believe innovation comes from continuous learning and diversity of all kinds.

Our Objectives and Functions

Key Objectives:

  • Build Capability - we create opportunities for people to learn new skills and support the mindsets that allow innovation to happen.
  • Provide Advice and Support - we provide advice on collaboration and engagement, data and analytics, improvement science, health system design, research translation, horizon scanning and innovation.
  • Partnering and Connecting - we bring people together to solve problems. Connecting clinicians, consumers and the community so they collaborate and learn from each other.
  • Innovation, Excellence and Best Practice - we think big and look for creative solutions that place South Australia as a global leader in health.

Core Functions:

  • Consumer and Clinical Partnerships
  • Clinical Informatics
  • Human-Centred Design
  • Clinical Improvement and Innovation

Our Deliverables

Key Deliverables in 2019-20:

  • Establishment of the CEIH under section 27 of the Public Sector Act 2009 as an attached office to DHW
  • Executive Directors appointed, the CEIH structure finalised and all initial positions filled
  • Work plans/priorities for each branch are developed
  • CEIH 1 year Corporate Plan is developed
  • CEIH 3 year Strategic Plan is developed
  • Branding, web and social media presence implemented
  • Eight Clinical Networks established
  • Statewide Clinical Network Executive established
  • First Annual Innovation/Vision event is held
  • Clinical Improvement Toolkit is developed
  • Development/finalisation of the following framework documents:
    1. Statewide Clinical Network Framework
    2. Clinician Engagement Framework
    3. CEIH Consumer and Carer Partnering Framework
    4. Model of Care Framework/Template
  • Data and Analytics Plan developed
  • Development of a framework to measure clinical impact and success
  • Stakeholder and partnerships plan is developed

Our organisational structure

Committees

The Clinical Advisory Council is the peak advisory body to the CEIH and supports the development of the CEIH Vision and Purpose in alignment with statewide health priorities and community expectations. The Council provides advice, insight and support to the CEIH on current and future programs of work.

The Clinical Informatics Advisory Group is a resource for the health system through our Clinical Informatics Directorate team to help solve wicked problems, share ideas and identify opportunities, barriers and gaps from a data and analytics led approach. They bring expertise and knowledge from across disciplines inside and outside of health, including (but not limited to) artificial intelligence/machine learning, data models, research translation, mobile applications, standards and design, governance, insights and visualisation, user experience/interface, health systems and digital health. This Group ensures that our informatics priorities are always aligned with our Vision and keeps us focused on improving data driven efficiencies for clinicians and users of clinical data.

The Clinical Improvement and Innovation Advisory Group consists of experts in:

  • Public health
  • Clinical information systems
  • Design thinking
  • Healthcare quality
  • Continuous improvement operating systems
  • Capability development
  • Consumer engagement

This diverse team of improvement and innovation experts guides our strategy and priorities. It brings in targeted expertise and consumer representation to help establish a strong network of clinical innovation across South Australia.

The Clinical Network Executive brings together the Leads from the Statewide Clinical Networks with South Australia’s professional leads and key executives from SA Health. This connection shares knowledge, fosters collaboration and forms relationships across agencies to deliver better healthcare with minimal bureaucracy.

Statewide Clinical Networks

Statewide Clinical Networks are groups of health professionals, health service organisations, consumers and carers who work collaboratively with the goal of high‑quality care. They operate across the continuum of care, across private and public sectors and across all Local Health Networks. Four Statewide Clinical Networks were established in 2019-20, these are detailed below along with their goals.

The Statewide Cancer Clinical Network aims to improve health outcomes for all South Australians affected by cancer by:

  • Focusing on compassionate and equitable care.
  • Working in collaborative partnerships with key stakeholders across the entire cancer continuum.
  • Building on latest evidence to drive excellence and innovation.
  • Driving improvements in safety, quality and patient experience.
  • Providing strategic expertise and advice on cancer care.

The Statewide Cardiology Clinical Network aims to improve cardiology services for the South Australian community through:

  • Ensuring equitable access to comprehensive, evidence based cardiovascular care, aimed at reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease.
  • Developing a multidisciplinary, highly skilled, inclusive workforce delivering best possible outcomes.
  • Using comprehensive, high quality data to assist service planning and drive continuous quality improvement.
  • Innovating in and implementing new or improved models of patient-focused care.
  • Supporting a connected and engaged workforce that is responsive to patient needs and deliver high quality care, teaching and research at all levels.

The Statewide Palliative Care Clinical Network aims to improve access, equity and care to South Australians requiring palliative care services by:

  • Increasing awareness of advanced care planning.
  • Developing better health literacy in the community.
  • Collaborating to improve data collection.
  • Measuring, monitoring and reporting.

The Statewide Urgent Care Clinical Network is committed to supporting urgent, unplanned, non‑life threatening care by:

  • Providing urgent, unexpected, non-life threatening care that is based on peoples’ experiences.
  • Collaborating with relevant healthcare professionals to ensure clinically appropriate care at the right place in the right timeframe.
  • Linking consumers with appropriate follow up services.
  • Improving access to urgent care for consumers aged over 75, those suffering from mental health emergencies and people living in rural areas who require services in metro areas.

Changes to the agency

During 2019-20, the CEIH was established as an attached office to DHW. Changes to the agency’s structure and objectives occurred as a result of machinery of government changes as follows:

  • The CEIH was operational on 1 July 2019 and existed as a unit within DHW. Significant planning was undertaken in the latter half of 2019 to transition the CEIH to an attached office.
  • On 6 January 2020, CEIH was proclaimed as an attached office to DHW pursuant to the Public Sector Act 2009.
  • Four key program areas were established: Consumer and Clinical Partnerships (including Statewide Clinical Networks), Clinical Improvement and Innovation, Clinical Informatics, Human-Centred Design.
  • DHW employees working at the CEIH were transferred to the independent CEIH agency as part of the machinery of government work.

Our Minister

Hon Stephen Wade MLC is the Minister for Health and Wellbeing in South Australia.

The Minister oversees health, wellbeing, mental health, ageing well, substance abuse and suicide prevention through the three government agencies of DHW, Wellbeing SA and the CEIH.

Our Executive team

Professor Paddy Phillips
Commissioner

Katie Billing
Executive Director, Consumer and Clinical Partnerships

Jarrard O’Brien
Executive Director, Human-Centred Design

Robert Kluttz
Executive Director, Clinical Improvement and Innovation

Tina Hardin
Executive Director, Clinical Informatics

Legislation administered by the agency

Nil

Department for Health and Wellbeing

Wellbeing SA

South Australian Ambulance Service

Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network

Central Adelaide Local Health Network

Eyre and Far North Local Health Network

Flinders and Upper North Local Health Network

Limestone Coast Local Health Network

Northern Adelaide Local Health Network

Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network

Southern Adelaide Local Health Network

Women’s and Children’s Health Network

Yorke and Northern Local Health Network

Read about the agency's performance.

Download Annual Report (9 MB, PDF)