Accreditation and the NSQHS Standards

The Australian Health Service Safety and Quality Accreditation (AHSSQA) scheme provides for the national coordination of accreditation processes.

Collecting and analysing feedback on the lessons learnt through accreditation is an essential part of quality improvement. Under the new arrangements the Commission will use feedback to maintain and update the NSQHS Standards and to identify areas where health services may require additional support or tools.

Improvement across the health care system can be achieved when feedback from accreditation of health service organisations is used by:

Regulators (state and territory health departments) – to support health service improvement and facilitate better understanding for health service organisations about their quality of care

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission) – to develop resources and tools to support good practice and to maintain the currency of the NSQHS Standards

Health Ministers – to drive changes in policy and investment around safety and quality

The AHSSQA Scheme consists of 5 inter-related elements to support the application of the NSQHS Standards. The roles of each are broadly as follows:

Health Ministers endorse the NSQHS Standards and receive information about health service organisations’ performance against the Standards.

The State, Territory and Commonwealth governments determine the health service organisations required to participate in an accreditation process using the NSQHS Standards. They receive data on the outcomes of accreditation of health service organisations and respond to emerging issues.

Health service organisations implement the actions required to meet the Standards and select an approved accrediting agency to assess their compliance in meeting the Standards. This involves a contractual relationship with the accrediting agency that recognises that accreditation data will be provided to regulators and the Commission for reporting and review.

The approved accrediting agencies assess health service organisations against the Standards. They may also offer to assess against a range of other standards

A program of national coordination within the Commission that will:

develop and maintain the NSQHS Standards

advise Health Ministers on the scope of accreditation i.e. which health service organisations are to be accredited. The initial focus will be on high risk services

approve accrediting agencies to assess against the Standards

undertake ongoing liaison with Regulators on opportunities to improve the Standards and the accreditation system

report to Health Ministers annually on safety and quality.

 ----------------------------------

http://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/ 

Related News

World Accreditation Day 2019 Video Now Available

World Accreditation Day 2019 focuses on how accreditation adds value to supply chains. To support the day, a video has been created to help celebrate the day.

read more...
Merger of PAC and APLAC to form APAC

In June 2018, the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC) and Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) agreed to combine to form one new regional accreditation body association to be called the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC

read more...
ISO 55001, Sodexoʼs bottom line

Asset management can be the single most powerful weapon in a companyʼs arsenal for saving time, money and lots of executive headaches. Using ISO 55001, Sodexo, a world leader in quality-of-life services, rolled out a best-practice model for asset manageme

read more...
ISO 9001:2015

ISO 9001:2015 Quality management systems -- Requirements ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carri

read more...
Ongoing food security research in the UK and across the world.

Ongoing food security research in the UK and across the world - Biodiversity boost from greener farming.

read more...
All-in-one solution for food safety certification

A new handbook compiling two key standards for certifying food safety management systems puts all the information certification bodies need for reliable and efficient audits in one place.

read more...
Food

On this page you will find topical information, news articles and other resources about ISO standards and food.

read more...
Water meters count on ISO standards

Does your water bill indicate an abnormal water consumption? The amount might not be pleasant to pay, but count yourself lucky you have a water meter, because without it you would not know that your pipe is leaking.

read more...
ISO & Energy

The energy challenge cuts across borders and requires the concerted effort of all countries. ISO International Standards are developed with all stakeholders on board: industry, government and consumers. They represent global consensus on practical technol

read more...
ISO & safety

Statistics indicate that design problems, malfunctions and inadequate safety information are all contributing to the high number of injuries resulting from using products, whatever the sector. ISO product safety standards provide universal guidance and

read more...