Service capability frameworks for Victoria

Service capability frameworks are being introduced for clinical streams across Victoria's health system.

Service capability frameworks are comprehensive guidelines developed for Victoria's health system to support the delivery of optimal care.

The frameworks apply to health service campuses within Victoria’s health system, encompassing a wide range of healthcare providers and facilities.

The frameworks outline the essential elements required for clinical services to function safely and effectively and categorise these services into different levels of capability.

Service capability frameworks:

  • describe the clinical services that can be safely delivered by a health service campus, typically against six levels of capability
  • provide a common language for staff, health services, and the community about what can be safely delivered at a given campus
  • assist the department and health services with planning and service development at local, regional and state-wide levels.

Service capability frameworks are already in place in most states of Australia.

The capability frameworks for Maternity and Newborn services are well established and embedded across Victoria’s health system. Additional capability frameworks are being released for major clinical streams in Victoria's health system in response to recommendations from Targeting zero, the review of hospital safety and quality assurance in Victoria (2016).

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Professor Andrew Wilson, Chief Medical Officer, Victoria: Hello, I'm Professor Andrew Wilson. I'm a cardiologist at St Vincent’s Health in Melbourne and I'm the Chief Medical Officer of Victoria. As the Chief Medical Officer, I advise the Victorian Government on clinical care and quality and safety.

Victoria’s health system aims to deliver the best care, at the right time, in the right place. Capability frameworks are a critical tool to ensure these aims are met.

The Department of Health will have a wide range of clinical capability frameworks to deliver safe and high-quality care across the Victorian health system.

The most appropriate care for patients may need to be delivered at different hospitals. Patients have different risk profiles due to their health, age and other factors. Different care requires different resources to achieve the best outcome. Capability frameworks describe the minimum capability for where care should be delivered, these outline clinical services through levels from one to six.

Capability frameworks recognise the importance of an integrated network of healthcare within regions, and across the state, with the understanding that complex care may need to be provided at hospitals with more wrap around services. It also recognises the importance of patients returning to their local healthcare network.

Service Capability Frameworks support hospitals to consider the unique needs of each person, the type of care they require, and the available resources to deliver that care. The frameworks help us determine where the care should take place. For example, patients with serious conditions may need complex care which requires staff with additional training and specialist services that are only available at larger hospitals.

Every two years, hospitals will be asked to complete a self-assessment, which describes their workforce, infrastructure, clinical support services and governance. This information will support the Department of Health in its conversations with hospitals about the care that they are delivering.

Capability levels will be publicly available to increase the communities’ understanding of what their local hospital can safely provide. Capability frameworks will not alter or change any services that are currently being safely provided.

Ultimately, safe patient care is a top priority, and capability frameworks are here to ensure that Victorians receive the best care possible, tailored to individual needs, delivered safely, and as close to home as practicable.

Capability frameworks for different clinical areas are a new and exciting way for Victorians to better understand their healthcare system. We look forward to working with you to develop and implement the frameworks and continue to improve our world class healthcare system.

Role of service capability frameworks

The role of capability frameworks is to:

  • support health services to collaborate to deliver the right care, at the right time to meet the needs of their communities
  • support the Department of Health and Safer Care Victoria to ensure that safe care, of the highest quality, is delivered to all Victorians
  • describe the supports needed for health services to deliver safe care to the community, as close to home as possible.

Purpose of capability frameworks

Capability frameworks outline the minimum requirements for safe and high-quality care in Victoria and support health services to deliver the right care, at the right time, at the right place to all Victorian communities.

Capability frameworks support the following functions:

  • Setting service capability levels and defining the relationships between services.
  • Effective health system planning and support future role delineation which will improve quality, safety, and efficiency of services.
  • Communicate policy expectations about clinical safety and management of risk.

Capability frameworks should be viewed in conjunction with other key documents, particularly the Victorian Role Delineation Framework, Victorian Health Services Performance Monitoring Framework, the Department of Health Policy and Funding Guidelines and the Safer Care Victoria clinical governance framework(opens in a new window).

Frameworks that are already in place in Victoria and/or are currently being reviewed include:

Critical care service capability framework for Victoria

The framework aims to guide how critical care services are delivered safely and sustainably across our public health system, setting minimum standards for adult and paediatric critical care services.

Perioperative service capability framework for Victoria

The perioperative service capability framework aims to ensure safe, high quality perioperative care occurs in the right place and at the right time.

Capability frameworks for maternity and newborn services

A variety of birthing services are available in Victoria depending on the level of care required. Capability frameworks support and guide how planned maternity and newborn care is provided.

Palliative care service capability framework

The service capability framework outlines 7 dimensions of measuring and describing palliative care capability across inpatient, community-based and consultancy services.

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