The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS)

Professor Kilpatrick has provided leadership to the healthcare sector through her various roles. Her most significant contribution has been as a key member of the Victorian Quality Council (VQC), the expert strategic advisory council established in 2001 to lead the quality and safety agenda for Victorian healthcare services.

She has been a member of the VQC since its inception in 2001, initially as the inaugural Deputy Chair and from 2005 as Chair during its second term. In this capacity, she demonstrated outstanding leadership in the implementation of a number of significant State and National initiatives that resulted in the VQC becoming a major force in the quality and safety arena, developing resources and programs that are trusted and well known throughout the Australian healthcare setting.

One of the key VQC initiatives overseen by Professor Kilpatrick was the development and dissemination of Better Quality, Better Health Care: A Safety & Quality Improvement Framework for Victorian health services.

Other VQC initiatives which came under her supervision included: the statewide Hand Hygiene project (which was incorporated into an ongoing program within the Department of Human Services and became a key driver of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare’s national Hand Hygiene initiative); the development of the Minimising the Risk of Falls & Falls-Related Injuries Guidelines; the implementation of the Acute Pain Management Measurement Toolkit; the piloting of the innovative Consumer Leadership Development Program; the development and national dissemination of a guide to using data for healthcare quality improvement and a range of activities to identify key issues relating to clinical handover and inter-hospital patient transfer.

Professor Kilpatrick in her role as an ambassador for quality and safety in Victoria has overseen the VQC’s focus on transferring evidence-based research into clinical practice through the development of practical tools and resources. This has included championing the education of health staff on quality and safety issues and ensuring that the best available knowledge is utilised to generate improvement.

The ACHS is proud and pleased to honour Professor Kilpatrick with our highest award for her outstanding commitment to quality and safety in Australian health services.

Dr Michael Hodgson AM

President, ACHS