4 Council terms
5 Eligibility of members
6 Appointment of officers
7 Objects of Council
8 Powers of Council
9 Duties of Council
10 Access to information
11 Networking
12 Report and advise
13 Minister’s direction
14 Request by health authority
15 Prior approval
16 Responsibilities to the Minister
17 Auditor
18 Sections of Act applicable
19 Regulations applicable
20 Winding up
21 Expiry
22 Coming into force
Definitions
1 In this Regulation,
(a) “Act”
means the Regional Health Authorities Act;
(b) “approved
plans” means the plans, reports, returns and records that must be approved by
the Minister under this Regulation;
(c) “chief
executive officer” means the chief executive officer appointed pursuant to
section 6;
(d) “Council”
means the Health Quality Council of Alberta established under section 2;
(e) “Deputy
Minister” means the Minister’s deputy;
(f) “health
authorities” means
(i) the Alberta Cancer Board,
(ii) a regional health authority, and
(iii) a provincial health board established under section 17 of the
Act;
(g) “health
plan” means a health plan approved by the Minister pursuant to section 9 of the
Act;
(h) “health
service quality” means the general quality of services in the health care
system as measured by accessibility, acceptability, appropriateness, efficiency
and effectiveness factors;
(i) “patient
safety” means the activities, strategies and mechanisms to avoid or mitigate
health risks to users of the health care system;
(j) “significant
incident” means an event that has or could have contributed to, or resulted in,
harm or death to a user of the health care system.
Council established
2(1) The provincial health
board with the name “Health Quality Council of Alberta” is hereby established.
(2) The Council is a
corporation consisting of its members.
Composition and
appointment
3(1) The
Council shall consist of not more than 10 members, all of whom shall be
appointed by the Minister.
(2) In the order
appointing members, the Minister may make provision for
(a) the filling of
vacancies,
(b) the appointment of
officers subject to subsections (3) and (4), and
(c) the payment of
remuneration and expenses to the members.
(3) The Minister shall
appoint one of the members of the Council as chair.
(4) In the absence or
vacancy of the chair, the Council may designate one of its members as an acting
chair.
Council terms
4(1) A
member of the Council shall be appointed for a term of not more than 3 years.
(2) A
member of the Council is eligible for reappointment, but no person shall serve
more than 2 consecutive terms on the Council.
(3) Despite
the expiry of the term of office of a member of the Council, the member remains
in office until
(a) the
member is reappointed or a successor is appointed, or
(b) a
period of 4 months passes after the expiry of the term of office,
whichever happens
first.
Eligibility of
members
5 In order to be appointed a member of the
Council, the person must
(a) be
18 years of age or older, and
(b) not
have been convicted of an offence
(i) under section 121, 122, 123, 124 or 125 of the Criminal Code (Canada),
or
(ii) that is punishable by imprisonment for 5 or more years.
Appointment of
officers
6 The Council shall, subject to the
approval of the Deputy Minister,
(a) appoint
a chief executive officer, and
(b) establish
the duties of the chief executive officer.
Objects of Council
7(1) The
objects of the Council are to promote and improve patient safety and health
service quality on a province‑wide basis.
(2) The
Council shall undertake the following activities in cooperation with health
authorities and in accordance with an approved health plan:
(a) measure,
monitor and assess patient safety and health service quality;
(b) identify
effective practices and make recommendations for the improvement of patient
safety and health service quality;
(c) assist
in the implementation and evaluation of strategies designed to improve patient
safety and health service quality;
(d) survey
Albertans on their experience and satisfaction with patient safety and health
service quality.
Powers of Council
8(1) To further its objects, the Council has the
capacity and, subject to subsections (2) and (3), the rights, powers and
privileges of a natural person.
(2) The
Council shall not engage in or carry on any activity that does not pertain to
the objects of the Council.
(3) The
Minister may prohibit, restrict or place conditions on the use of a right,
power or privilege of the Council.
Duties of Council
9 The Council shall
(a) send
a copy of the minutes of all Council meetings to the Deputy Minister, within 7
days after the meeting at which the minutes were adopted,
(b) prepare
and submit for the approval of the Minister
(i) a health plan, business plan and financial plan for each fiscal
year, and
(ii) any other plans, reports, returns or records that the Minister
requests,
and
(c) provide
any other information to the Minister or the Deputy Minister upon request.
Access to information
10(1) The Council shall
have reasonable access to information held by health authorities as necessary
to carry out its objects related to
(a) collecting and
analyzing information on patient safety, health service quality and significant
incidents provided by Quality Assurance Committees, health authorities or other
sources,
(b) identifying factors
causing or contributing to problems with patient safety, health service quality
or significant incidents,
(c) reviewing reports
made
(i) by a medical examiner or other investigative body, or
(ii) in the course of a public fatality inquiry,
and
(d) making recommendations
on strategies for improving patient safety, health service quality and the
reduction of significant incidents.
(2) The
Council may establish a quality assurance committee that has as its primary
purpose the carrying out of quality assurance activities, and if it does, that
committee shall be a Quality Assurance Committee under section 9 of the Alberta
Evidence Act.
Networking
11 The Council shall coordinate with the
health professions, other health authorities, organizations providing health
services, academic health centres and others for the purposes of
(a) sharing
information on patient safety and health service quality issues,
(b) identifying
and assessing patient safety and health service quality issues, and
(c) developing and
recommending effective practices in patient safety and health service quality.
Report and advise
12 The Council shall
(a) report to Albertans
on any survey it conducts under section 7(2)(d), and
(b) advise the Minister
on
(i) the quality of health services in the health care system,
(ii) results and recommendations of the work of the Council on patient
safety and health service quality, and
(iii) such other matters as requested by the Minister.
Minister’s direction
13 On the request of the Minister, the
Council shall assess, inquire into or study matters respecting patient safety
and health service quality that are referred to it by the Minister.
Request by health
authority
14 The Council may assess, inquire into or
study matters respecting patient safety and the quality of patient care that
are referred to it on the request of a health authority.
Prior approval
15(1) The
Council must obtain the prior approval of the Minister before
(a) terminating
a program or service provided by the Council;
(b) starting
a new program or service;
(c) undertaking
additional research that has not been approved under the Council’s health plan;
(d) making
recommendations with respect to any of its objects;
(e) making
a change to an approved health plan, business plan, financial plan or an
existing activity or service provided by the Council;
(f) establishing
a line of credit or borrowing money;
(g) accepting
funds appropriated by the Legislature or the Parliament of Canada.
(2) The
Council must act in accordance with an approved business and financial plan
before
(a) purchasing,
leasing or otherwise acquiring any personal property,
(b) buying
or leasing real property,
(c) selling,
leasing or otherwise disposing of any of its property, or
(d) accepting
grants, donations, gifts and bequests of any property and, subject to the terms
of the grant, donation, gift or bequest, sell or otherwise dispose of that
property.
Responsibilities to
the Minister
16(1) The
Council is accountable to the Minister for the manner in which it carries out
its objects and exercises its powers.
(2) The
chief executive officer shall report regularly to the Deputy Minister on the
work of the Council and shall provide such information as requested by the
Deputy Minister from time to time.
(3) If
the Deputy Minister is not satisfied that the chief executive officer has
undertaken work in accordance with the approved plans or any direction of the
Minister, the Council shall take such action as directed by the Deputy Minister
which may include, without limitation, making changes in senior management.
Auditor
17 The Auditor General is the auditor of the
Council.
Sections of Act
applicable
18(1) Sections
6(2), 7, 8, 9 (except subsection (4)(b) and (c)), 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 (except
subsection (2)), 19, 20, 21 (except subsection (1)(c)), 22 and 26 of the Act
apply with any necessary modifications in respect of the Council as if it were
a regional health authority.
(2) For
the purposes of the application of section 9(4)(a) of the Act to the Council, the reference to
section 5 of the Act shall be read as a reference to sections 7, 10, 11, 12, 13
and 14 of this Regulation.
(3) For
the purposes of the application of section 9(4)(d) of the Act to the Council,
the reference to “health services” shall be read as a reference to “services”.
Regulations
applicable
19(1) The Regional Health Authorities Regulation
(AR 15/95) applies, with the following modifications, in respect of the
Council as if it were a regional health authority:
(a) section 2(2) of that
Regulation shall be interpreted as if “on or before September 30, 1995” read
“within 90 days after the coming into force of this Regulation”;
(b) section 2(4) of that
Regulation shall be interpreted as if “on or before September 30, 1995” read
“within 90 days after the coming into force of this Regulation”;
(c) section
2.1 of that Regulation shall be interpreted as if it included the following
after subsection (1):
(1.1) A resolution under subsection (1) must be
approved by the Minister before it is acted on, and a resolution is ineffective
until it is approved.
(d) section
2.2(5) and (6) of that Regulation do not apply;
(e) section 2.2(7) of
that Regulation shall be interpreted as if it read as follows:
(7) Where the Council
enters into a transaction referred to in section 2.1, it shall ensure that by
the terms of the agreement
(a) only the Council is liable in respect of the agreement, and
(b) the other parties to the contract acknowledge and agree that the
Crown is not liable for the acts or omissions of the Council, except where the
Crown specifically assumes such liability.
(f) section
2.4(6), (7), (8) and (9) of that Regulation do not apply;
(g) section 2.51 of that
Regulation shall be interpreted as if it read as follows:
2.51(1) Where the Council enters into a joint venture agreement, it shall
ensure that its financial commitment in the agreement is clearly specified in
the agreement or can be determined from the terms and conditions of the
agreement.
(2) Unless the Council has the Minister’s approval, the Council
shall not enter into a joint venture agreement with any person other than a
health authority.
(h) section 2.8 of that
Regulation does not apply;
(i) section 2.9(1)(a)(ii)
and (b)(ii) of that Regulation shall be interpreted as if “authority” read
“Council”;
(j) section
2.9(5) and (6) of that Regulation do not apply;
(k) sections 2.91,
4(3)(a), 6 and 7 of that Regulation do not apply.
(2) The Regional Health Authorities (Ministerial)
Regulation (AR 17/95) applies, with the following modifications, in
respect of the Council as if it were a regional health authority:
(a) section 1 of that
Regulation does not apply;
(b) section 2(2) and (3)
of that Regulation shall be interpreted as if they read as follows:
(2) The Council shall
provide its annual report to the Minister not later than the July 31
immediately following each fiscal year.
(3) The Council shall provide its audited financial statements
and the information referred to in section 3 to the Minister not later than the
June 30 immediately following each fiscal year.
(c) section
3(5) and (7) of that Regulation do not apply.
(3) Sections
1 to 13 of the Regional Health Authorities Foundations Regulation (AR 16/95)
apply in respect of the Council as if it were a regional health authority.
Winding up
20(1) The Minister may make an order providing for the winding up of
the affairs of the Council and the assumption of the affairs of the Council.
(2) An order under this
section may contain any provisions that are necessary to accomplish the
purposes set out in subsection (1).
Expiry
21 For the purpose of ensuring that this
Regulation is reviewed for ongoing relevancy and necessity, with the option
that it may be repassed in its present or an amended form following a review,
this Regulation expires on September 30, 2016.
Coming into force
22 This Regulation comes into force on July
1, 2006.
