What an amazing start to the Asia Pacific Forum as 900 people from 16 nations made a commitment to come together to share ideas, stories and learnings on Quality Improvement in heath care.

People came from near and far for a common goal – to learn from some of the best minds in health and to go back to their organisations and put in place sustainable and effective health care improvement for the people who need them the most.

The day got off to a wonderful and energetic start with a Powhiri/welcome where the ‘protocol of encounter’ – who you are and why you have come was explained to our international guests. A children’s performance group called Te Wharekura a rohe o Mangere captured the hearts of many and I’m sure many in the audience were moved when Dr Lance O’Sullivan turned to the children and said “This (the Forum) is for you.”

After the Powhiri the Forum was opened by Associate Minister of Health Hon Jo Goodhew, who thanked everyone for making it a priority to be here. Hon Goodhew spoke about the commitment of the HQSC in leading quality improvement, the use of Health and Safety Markers to improve health and safety to people in New Zealand and the importance of engaging consumers. Hon Goodhew also spoke about the launch (early next year) of a National Patient Safety campaign aimed at reducing harm in the area of patient falls, healthcare associated infections, surgery and medication.

The first keynote speaker of the day was Maureen Bisagnano, IHI CEO – who captivated the audience with moving stories of patients, families and health professionals working together to plan and coordinate care. Maureen asked us to think about:

• Moving from asking our patients “What’s the matter? To “What matters to you?
• Identifying and building on the assets in our patients, our organisations and in our communities
• Moving from disease care to health care and
• Focus on our own health and our family’s health.

Our second key note speaker for the day was Sir Muir Gray, Director of the National Knowledge Service in the United Kingdom, who spoke about the future of health care and asked us to plan, imagine and build. “If you don’t imagine and plan the future someone else will.” Sir Muir took us back to the revolutions that have shaped health care today and spoke about the 5 common problems still facing countries around the world: Failure to prevent preventable disease, inequity, patient harm even when quality is high, waste of resources and unwarranted variation. Sir Muir offered 5 solutions for the new paradigm, giving practical examples of their application. The solutions are: A focus on value, change culture, population based systems and engage patients.

Forum attendees also had a variety of workshops to choose from during the day – all led by presenters from the top of their field. If you couldn’t manage to be in 6 places at once, check out some of the sessions (including Sir Muir Gray’s), that were filmed from the first day of the APAC Forum 2012 below:

APAC Forum 2012: Powhiri & Conference Welcome from Ko Awatea on Vimeo.

APAC Forum 2012: Back to Basics – The Fundamentals of Improvement from Ko Awatea on Vimeo.

APAC Forum 2012: Patient and Family Centred Care – Partnerships for Improving the Patient Experience, Safety, and Quality from Ko Awatea on Vimeo.

APAC Forum 2012: Equity in Health Care – The What, The Why, and the How from Ko Awatea on Vimeo.

APAC Forum: Global Lessons – System Change Experiences from New Zealand and England from Ko Awatea on Vimeo.

APAC Forum 2012: The Changing Face of Health Care – The Asia Pacific Story from Ko Awatea on Vimeo.

APAC Forum 2012: Future Proofing Child Health from Ko Awatea on Vimeo.

APAC Forum 2012: Keynote – Sir Muir Gray from Ko Awatea on Vimeo.