GEO News

After a successful first five months of operations, GEO Healthcare has achieved accreditation based on the Australian National Safety and Quality Health Services (NSQHS) Standards, the ‘gold standard’ for healthcare mandated for all health services in Australia.

The NSQHS Standards provide a nationally consistent statement of the level of care consumers can expect from health service organisations. 

The eight NSQHS Standards are:

Clinical Governance

Partnering with Consumers

Preventing and Controlling Healthcare Associated Infection

Medication Safety

Comprehensive Care

Communicating for Safety

Blood Management (GEO Healthcare was exempt as it does not administer blood or blood products in prisons)

Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration

GEO Healthcare’s operations at its Melbourne Head Office and across eight of its 13 delivery sites in Victoria’s men’s public prisons were assessed in November of 2023.

At the survey’s conclusion, the assessors summarised their findings to GEO Healthcare staff via videoconference. The lead assessor explained they seek a high congruence for each standard between written policies, what staff tell them they do, what the assessors observe staff doing, and what the patients say the staff do. GEO Healthcare was found by the assessors to be in compliance with the NSQHS Standards based on their review, and no further recommendations were made.

The assessors made special comment of the strong emphasis incorporated in the Standards for ensuring an organisation’s safety and quality priorities address the specific needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The assessors commented that GEO Healthcare was doing this well due to additional Aboriginal Health Services being provided under its new service delivery specifications.

They also mentioned how they saw real collaborations between healthcare professionals and their patients, with the latter being regarded as sympathetic and offering satisfying medical experiences. The assessors also randomly interviewed several patients at each site who had only positive things to say about the medical staff and services.

David Grace PSM, General Manager of GEO Healthcare, expressed his happiness with the accreditation survey's results.

“Our staff have done an excellent job in preparing GEO Healthcare for accreditation. Staff have really taken to the mantra that safety and quality is everyone’s responsibility,” Mr. Grace said. “GEO Healthcare has amazing staff who do a wonderful job. I couldn’t be prouder of their achievements since the commencement of service delivery on July 1,2023.”

GEO’s Director, Governance and Continuous Improvement, Kim Blinkhorn, said; “The formal notice that GEO Healthcare has achieved accreditation to these standards is a testament to the hard work by senior leaders and the dedication by front line staff across the sites."