Head of Governance appointed at University Hospital Limerick

Marti Lotter has been appointed Head of Governance at UL Hospital Group. The new role will involve the implementation of a Hospital Quality Performance Measurement System aimed at improving the quality of patient services and strengthening governance structures around all processes.

Ms Lotter will be using research conducted in association with the University of Limerick headquartered Lero, the Irish Software Research Centre, as part of her Ph.D programme. The programme is backed by the HSE and an Irish Research Council grant of €96,000.

“This research will provide a software based framework to measure quality performance of a hospital at all levels of management,” commented Professor Ita Richardson, who is a Principal Investigator, Lero at the University of Limerick. “It will facilitate an effective method of displaying, communicating as well as tracking and trending of data to pinpoint areas that can benefit from quality improvement initiatives.”

“The framework includes a set of relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that measures all the elements critical to the delivery of a high quality health care service,” commented Ms Lotter, UL Hospital Group. “This is a great example of a hospital collaborating with a leading research institution to implement real world benefits. The initiative has the potential to be rolled out across other HSE hospitals.”

CEO, UL Hospital Group, Colette Cowan, incorporates quality performance management principles in her management approach and provided support and encouragement for this project.

She commented, “We have developed strong ties with Lero and the University of Limerick and plan to get a number of other projects off the ground that will benefit both institutions. The partnership also allows for the personal development of our employees through engagement in focussed research to obtain a Ph.D.”