[Proposals by the Spanish Society of Quality in Healthcare (SECA) for the recovery of the National Health Service after the COVID-19 pandemic].

BACKGROUND

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has demanded responses for which the National Health System (NHS) was not prepared. The Spanish Society for Quality in Healthcare (SECA) has the mission of promoting quality in healthcare and contributing to its proper functioning.

OBJECTIVE

To present SECA recommendations to ensure the quality and safety of patients in the recovery of the NHS following the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the possibility of a resurgence.

METHODS

Qualitative study to seek consensus with the participation of 49 representatives of the different stakeholders (patients, managers, professionals, academics and researchers). The areas to be explored were: lessons learned, management of new care demands from COVID-19 patients, recompositing of templates, strengthening the resilience of professionals, new role of patients and contingency plans.

RESULTS

Four hundred and twenty-eight proposals were submitted. Once duplicates were deleted and similar proposals were merged, their number was reduced to 120. Of these, 60 proposals were prioritized and grouped into two categories of measures: (1) to recover the Health System (equity, accessibility, effectiveness, efficiency, safety, patient experience and work morale) and (2) to deal with possible outbreaks.

CONCLUSION

SECA responds to its commitment to society with recommendations to ensure quality of healthcare and patient safety in the COVID-19 Era.