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Acute
Hospitals Independent Programme
In
the 2002 edition of the programme HQS has updated and
expanded the standards to ensure they reflect the working
practices and service provision within independent, private
and voluntary healthcare. The standards are as applicable
to groups of hospitals as they are to stand alone
organisations and private patient units within NHS
trusts. These
latest standards take account of changes in legislation, government
directives, professional guidance and the feedback received
from hospitals, units and surveyors involved in the programme.
The fourth edition of the manual, has 66 standards, in six
sections covering:
- organisational
management
- service
delivery
- the
patient's experience
- service
specific standards for clinical and non-clinical departments.
New
standards are included for:
- Organisational
and service leadership
- Clinical
governance (example
standard - click here to download a pdf copy)
- Consultant
users of services
- Staff
experience (gaining staff perceptions of the organisation)
- Clinical
services development (clinical governance at service level)
- Cosmetic
surgery
- Assisted
conception services
- Physiotherapy
Revised
standards include:
- Human
Resources contains new guidance on recruitment, training
and establishing a healthy workplace
- Financial
management expanded to include financial transactions
with patients
- Marketing
issues addressed in revised standard on marketing and
communications
Benefits
of Participation
The benefits of applying an organisation-wide quality improvement
tool are many. The programme enables services to demonstrate
that they operate within a quality culture based on a solid
framework of standards, enhancing the confidence of patients.
Here are some examples of benefits of the programme as reported
by participating organisations:
"We
were able to see where new work practices were in place
and where others needed more time and effort to implement
change"
"I
have complete confidence that the policy and procedures
manual is up-to-date and covers all key issues"
"The
external survey gave a real-time deadline for completing
on initiatives that had been plodding along"
"Communication
and teamwork has improved dramatically."
Support
pre-survey
The HQS programme is unique in that every client has a personal
link with their client manager at HQS, who is available throughout
the process to guide on implementation and the interpretation
of the standards for your organisation. The client needs to
nominate a project manager to lead the implementation throughout
the hospital/unit. This individual will attend a training
and information day run by HQS, covering key stages of the
pre-survey process, for example, project planning and survey
preparation. Your client manager will make an on-site visit
early in the project to advise on local issues and to advise
on the smooth running of the programme in your organisation.
Timing
of the programme
HQS recommends that the hospital/unit allows approximately
a year for the initial phase of working with the standards
and preparing for the external survey. For most organisations,
working towards accreditation is a staged process with the
external survey being a significant milestone but not the
end point. Most organisations continue to work on the action
points arising from the external survey in order to pursue
accreditation.
ISO
Certification
HQS is also able to award certification to ISO 9001:2000,
as we are accredited by UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation
Service). Hospital/units can opt for an ISO audit in addition
to the HQS process, and by working to the same set of standards
gain dual accreditation/certification. Fees below are quoted
for HQS accreditation only, please enquire if you would like
a quotation for the double process of HQS plus ISO certification.
Cost
of participation
The price of the accreditation programme varies according
the range of services provided and the management structure
of the organisation. This will influence factors such as the
resources required for assessment and the number of days taken
to survey the hospital/unit. As a guide, prices for small
private patient units participating in the process would start
from around £5,000, rising to approximately £20,000
for a large independent sector hospital.
For
further information contact:
Andrew
Thomas
Email: athomas@chks.co.uk
Tel:
020 7389 1009 (direct line)
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