It's about the relationships: reflections from a provincial quality council on building a better healthcare system

The mandate of Saskatchewan's Health Quality Council (HQC) is to play a hands-on role in health system transformation by working collaboratively with government, regional health authorities, health professions and citizens. Instead of the traditional, representative model, HQC is governed by an "expert board." Because board members do not represent their own organization or profession, they have stayed focused on the "system" nature of HQC's mandate, working with individuals and organizations committed to improving quality at a system level. In recent years, HQC has achieved a significant shift in attitude toward quality improvement throughout Saskatchewan's healthcare system, realized partly through building strong, effective relationships with those managing and delivering care. Hundreds of front-line providers, managers and leaders are now learning and applying quality improvement methods to improve healthcare quality. Since its inception, HQC has moved to a higher level of interdependence with other healthcare system stakeholders, helping advance the quality agenda so that everyone has a greater understanding about mutual responsibilities.