When we launched the 100,000 Lives program in 2021, the goal was ambitious: to improve the care and outcomes of 100,000 Victorians through safer, more effective and more person-centred healthcare.
Five years later, the program has surpassed that goal, improving the lives of almost 160,000 Victorians across the state.
We have achieved this through:
- reducing unwarranted variation and inequity in healthcare access and treatment
- increasing the number of people who feel that staff based their care on what was important to them
- reducing the number of instances of inappropriate prescribing of medication
- reducing the number of adverse events in hospitals
- increasing the number of people who are involved as much as they want to be in making decisions about their care
- reducing the number of people who receive low value interventions in hospitals
- reducing the number of people with a chronic condition who are admitted to hospital.
Yet its most important impact cannot be measured in numbers.
It can be seen in the parent whose concerns helped identify deterioration in their child earlier. It can be seen in the woman whose care team recognised a serious complication sooner. It can be seen in the person who received more consistent, evidence-based care because successful approaches were tested, shared and adopted across multiple health services.
The program brought together health services, consumers, carers, clinicians, researchers and system partners to address some of healthcare's most enduring challenges. Nineteen improvement initiatives focused on priorities including maternity and newborn care, stroke treatment, medication safety, paediatric deterioration, chronic disease management and reducing unwarranted variation in care.
At its core, the program was built on partnership. People with lived experience helped shape priorities and solutions. Health services and local health service networks worked together to share learning, challenge assumptions and adapt proven approaches to local contexts. This collective effort helped ensure more Victorians received safer, higher-quality care, regardless of where they lived or accessed services.
The impact extended well beyond the original target. Improvements in safety and quality became embedded in everyday practice. New relationships were formed across disciplines, organisations and regions.
Successful approaches were refined and adapted, creating opportunities for learning to spread across the health system. Most importantly, people received better care.
The program also demonstrated what can be achieved when diverse expertise is united around a shared purpose. Across Victoria, individuals and organisations contributed their knowledge, experience and commitment to improving healthcare. The result was not only measurable improvements in care, but also stronger connections, deeper collaboration, and a richer understanding of how improvement can be achieved in complex health systems, along with the capability to deliver it.
This achievement would not have been possible without the dedication of the many people and organisations involved. We extend our sincere thanks to participating health services, local health service networks, consumers and carers, clinicians, researchers, partner organisations and staff who contributed their time, expertise and leadership throughout the program.
As the program concludes, its legacy continues through the Safer Together Program - Victoria's Learning Health System. The partnerships, knowledge and improvement capability developed through 100,000 Lives have provided a strong foundation for ongoing collective efforts to improve safety, quality and equity across Victoria's health system.
Almost 160,000 lives were improved through the 100,000 Lives program. Its lasting achievement is not only the number reached, but the stronger foundation it has created for improving care across Victoria for years to come.