Meet Toby Waller – Project Officer, Healthcare Standards
Welcome to our Staff Spotlight where we introduce our great teams who work tirelessly to support ACHS Members.
In this edition we learn more about one of our newest recruits, Project Officer, Toby Waller.
How does your role support ACHS Members?
My role as a Project Officer in the ACHS Healthcare Standards team involves implementing new standards, programs, and resources. I contribute to developing and reviewing ACHS standards like EQuIP, and I handle communication with external stakeholders on healthcare standards and assessment requirements. Collaborating across teams, I enhance our processes and products to benefit our Members.
What do you find most rewarding about working in the healthcare sector?
I have always enjoyed making a difference at work, whether that be on a small scale and just making one person’s day, or on a larger scale and being a catalyst for systemic changes that benefit the greater good. I have been lucky enough to work in the healthcare sector for close to 10 years and feeling like you are making a difference is a big driver for me.
Describe an interesting project that you have worked on.
To date, my favourite project I have been involved in has been the ACHS Quality Improvement (QI) Awards. This is a key responsibility of our team and the Awards allow for healthcare organisation to submit their own personal quality improvement projects to be judged to criteria aligning to the ACHS values. Getting more exposure to the breadth of quality improvement initiatives that are happening across many healthcare sites nationally has been impressive and eye-opening.
What comes to mind when you think of healthcare quality improvement?
Healthcare quality improvement, to me, is the constant process of implementing change and then evaluating its effectiveness. This process sometimes leads to innovations that are unsustainable or do not work as planned, but often leads to the overall improvement in quality of a system and benefits for the greater good.
Which healthcare figure or organisation most inspires you?
I am always inspired by the work of the United Nations, and more specifically the World Health Organization (WHO), who are constantly striving to bring innovation to global health issues. These innovations are particularly powerful for second and third world countries, who deserve just as much access to quality healthcare as those of us lucky enough to live in wealthy countries.
How do you practise self-care?
I am a big believer in self-care being a priority for everyone! I am a very active person and really enjoy going to the Gym and practicing Yoga as a means of self-care. I also make every effort to get out into the sunshine and the ocean, when the weather is behaving, and find this extremely therapeutic!
Thank you Toby, for sharing your insights and experience with us. We look forward to bringing you further Staff Spotlight articles in the future and showcasing the incredible talent that we foster at ACHS.
