From staff onboarding to accreditation management with Logiqc, interview with Jo Bell, Kākāriki Hospital Quality Manager.

Kākāriki Hospital, situated in Greenland, Auckland, opened its doors in March 2024. This state-of-the-art facility has been designed to offer a wide range of elective surgical procedures for both adults and children.

The Logiqc platform was implemented in the early stages of the preparation for the hospital to open to support the preparation for the hospital's initial accreditation process, an essential step in the commissioning of the hospital.

We talked to Jo Bell, Quality Manager at Kākāriki Hospital, about how Logiqc has helped not only the accreditation process of the hospital but has also supported the creation of a wider continuous improvement culture within the organisation.

How the platform has helped with commissioning the hospital?

I wasn't involved in the initial conversation and purchasing of the Logiqc platform. However, I joined in December 2023, and our hospital opened in March 2024, so I had the opportunity to use the platform for about three months before we opened. Initially, only a few people were using it, including the clinical services manager, the CEO, and myself. Fortunately, I had used Logiqc in a previous job, so I was already familiar with it.

We received our provisional accreditation in January 2024. Having everything centralised in the Logiqc system provided excellent oversight and was crucial for compliance, much better than managing everything on paper.

What were the main benefits of using the platform?

The Documents register was incredibly beneficial because it allowed us to centralise everything. We were able to upload core documents to the system and ensure they were assigned to the right people for review.

The Accreditation register was also crucial in helping us prepare for audits and achieve compliance with ease, especially in areas like radiation safety. Using the platform, allowed us to upload accreditation certificates, manage compliance, and generate actions and improvements from the audit results. I was able to start implementing corrective actions right away and assigning them to the right people with specific dates for follow-up. The platform allowed us to see where we stood with all documents, ensuring they were assigned and reviewed appropriately.

Before I started, the team was using SharePoint, which presented challenges. The transition to the new system made a significant difference in our organisation. For instance, we have a radiation safety audit from the Ministry of Health in a couple of weeks, and all the necessary documents are already in the system. We are accreditation and compliance-ready, which has significantly reduced our stress levels.

As the hospital and the team grew, has the Logiqc platform been useful in training and onboarding staff?

Yes. What I have done so far, and this is a work in progress, is send new staff their username and password to access the platform as soon as they start. They can begin onboarding and see the modules they need to complete.

Besides the learning modules in Logiqc, I also provide some orientation on our end. Some people pick it up really fast, and I've already got my champions, while others need a bit more guidance. I love the training modules in Logiqc, but sometimes, even after completing them, there's a bit of confusion. I may need to refine and clarify things, so staff know where to put what in the platform.

The Team Leader of our Sterile Service Department loves Logiqc because her department really benefits from it. We recently purchased new standards for her, and they are already putting reports on the platform and working on it. For her, it’s a huge benefit. However, other managers only perform minimal tasks on the platform.

In general, people are picking it up, and it's great to see them starting to find their way around the system. I first used it when I was a manager and loved it, so I probably assumed most people would feel the same about it.

What would you say were the challenges when setting up the platform?

One of the challenges for me was knowing when to add registers, especially considering the associated costs. I also found the implementation project plan a bit confusing initially. However, I reached out to Elizabeth (Elizabeth Church, Customer Success Manager at Logiqc) and she was great in helping me out.

I think part of the confusion stemmed from not being involved from the beginning and missing the initial introduction to the platform. It felt a bit wordy at first.

Has the platform helped with the wider goals of the organisation?

Yes, definitely. For instance, it has helped with fostering a reporting culture. We had many people starting at once, coming from different hospitals, each bringing their own cultures. The Logiqc platform has helped everyone understand that the improvement culture is about continuous improvement through reporting, not about naming and blaming. It's about identifying issues so we can change and improve.

The platform has also been beneficial on the governance side of things. We're aiming for full accreditation in January 2025, and I’ve been linking relevant information to the modules. Each week, I spend some time reviewing the different criteria, seeing where we stand, identifying what's missing, and what we need to review.

Logiqc has helped our hospital with accreditation, governance, and accountability for managers. I’ve also scheduled most of our audits on the platform. It helps everyone understand their responsibilities and contributes to a culture of continuous improvement.

What was the influence on the communication or coordination within the team?

It has been helpful in managing events across different areas and facilitating collaboration with other managers. For example, during my quality and safety meetings, we can have all the necessary information in the system, which allows all managers to access it easily. Additionally, we can link this information to our accreditation efforts, making everything available for the team to review and use.

How do you find the communication with the Logiqc team?

It’s very good. Even now, six months down the track, the team is still very responsive. That's very important because many companies are great at the beginning but then drop off. That's not the case with Logiqc.

I also really love the webinars; they are so useful. The resources and ongoing webinars are great and provide continuous support.

I often send them feedback and can easily discuss any questions or comments I have, such as reopening events to add additional information or make modifications. Another aspect I've mentioned is including specific information about a patient’s ethnicity in the platform. They are always happy to help and listen.

If you are also looking for a platform that can support the compliance, quality, and risk management within your organisation, reach out to the team at Logiqc for a custom demonstration!