Lions Gate Hospital was one of two Canadian facilities recently recognized by the American College of Surgeons for its outstanding results in surgical care.
The North Vancouver care centre received the nod out of a field of 374 international hospitals, according to a press release.
The college's National Surgical Quality Improvement Program is a comprehensive surgical database aimed at tracking surgical outcomes and improving the quality of surgical care. The program's goal is to not only reduce infections, illnesses and deaths related to surgical procedures, but to also help surgeons implement evidence-based practices into their own work.
Patient safety, high quality of care and improved health outcomes are top priorities for our government, said Naomi Yamamoto, North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA, in the statement, adding she would like to recognize the incredible work of hospital staff in achieving these priorities.
Lions Gate was one of 37 hospitals to receive Meritorious status, meaning it had the best outcomes in a group of nine key surgical measures including mortality, surgical site infections and cardiac incidents.
According to Dr. Ramesh Sahjpaul, medical director of Lions Gate's surgery program, the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program is a valuable way to see where the hospital is doing well and how it can improve. The college program is the only nationally validated quality improvement program that measures and enhances the care of surgical patients, he said in the statement. Being recognized in the top 10 per cent is a significant honour for them and reaffirms that everyone is working hard to provide the best surgical care for patients, Sahjpaul added.
The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program was developed in the early 1990s by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs when the quality of care it provided was called into question. By 2003, Veteran's Health was able to substantially improve its quality of surgical care and reduce surgical mortality by 27 per cent and complications by 45 per cent. The college expanded the program, which has now become a highly regarded method of driving surgical improvement.
Vancouver Coastal Health implemented the program in 2011 at Lions Gate, Vancouver General, UBC, Richmond, Mount Saint Joseph and St. Paul's hospitals. The program is currently used at 24 sites across the province.
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