Summer in the pool - New blog post by Saskatoon urologist Kishore Visvanathan: Summertime has traditionally been a challenge for our efforts to improve access. As we are working with half the number of urologists, patient wait times usually increase in the summer and early fall. (August 30, 2010)

June Board meeting minutes now available: HQC's Board of Directors met in Saskatoon in late June. The notes from that meeting are now available. (August 30, 2010)

See the latest quarterly evaluation report on the Releasing Time to Care Program(TM): The July 2010 report includes many examples of how Releasing Time to Care(TM) teams in Saskatchewan are improving: patient safety and reliability of care, the patient experience, staff well-being, and efficiency of care. (August 24, 2010)

HQC 2009-2010 annual report now available: The theme of the report is "Connecting: perspectives, priorities and people," which reflects our focus on aligning with the rest of the health care system, and making connections between the people we work with and the work that we do. The report highlights many of our activities aimed at accelerating improvement in Saskatchewan's health system. (August 20, 2010)

Study will assess impact of quality improvement program on patients and nurses: Researchers at the Health Quality Council and the University of Saskatchewan have received nearly $500,000 in grant funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation to study the effect of the Releasing Time to Care(TM) program on patient outcomes and on the quality of work-life for nurses. (July 28, 2010)

Saskatchewan first in world to test quality improvement program in long-term care: Moose Jaw's Providence Place, Saskatoon Convalescent Home, and St. Paul Lutheran Home in Melville have been selected as test sites for Releasing Time to CareTM, a program originally developed in the United Kingdom for use on hospital wards. (July 21, 2010)

Improving patients' access to medical appointments: The Summer issue of the Saskatchewan Medical Association's News Digest features an article on a new initiative that will help Saskatchewan doctors revamp their practices to give patients easier access to appointments. Check out the article on page 18-19. (July 19, 2010)