About IHSAB                                                                                                          

In January 2006 the Irish Health Services Accreditation Board were awarded accreditation through ISQua's International Accreditation Programme.

ISQua is The International Society for Quality in Health Care. ISQua is a non-profit organisation which works to provide services to guide health professionals, providers, researchers, agencies, policy makers and consumers, to achieve excellence in health care delivery to all people, and to continuously improve the quality and safety of care.

The ISQua International Standards incorporate the International Standards Organisation (ISO) requirements for certification bodies, the Baldrige criteria for performance excellent as contained in the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) Excellence Model, and criteria for organisational excellence drawn from the standards of a number of national accreditation bodies.

ISQua Accreditation of healthcare external evaluation bodies is a learning and developmental process that includes organisation self-assessment against Standards and external peer assessment by international surveyors.

Standards for Healthcare External Evaluation Bodies are assessed through the ISQua Internation Accreditation Programme (IAP).

The IHSAB were assessed through a self assessment and external peer assessment process in the areas of:

Following assessment in each of these areas the IHSAB were deemed to have met the criteria required for accreditation. This Accredited Organisational status is from January 2006 to December 2009.

THE ACUTE CARE ACCREDITATION SCHEME (ACAS)                                               

The ACAS is designed

Purpose of Acute Care Accreditation Scheme

The purpose of the ACAS is

Principles of the Acute Care Accreditation Scheme

Overview of the Acute Care Accreditation Process

The Irish Health Services Acute Care Accreditation Scheme is voluntary and independently objective. The aim of the scheme is to provide for the objective and systematic evaluation of healthcare entities against a set of pre-defined quality standards. The accreditation process evaluates participating organisation's patient/client care, support services, leadership and partnerships initiatives against national standards that focus on processes and outcomes. The accreditation process gives health service organisations an effective way of assessing how they are performing.

The accreditation programme is envisaged as a three year continuous learning cycle. From the decision to apply for Accreditation to the time of the on-site survey is, in most cases, a 12 - 18 month timeframe.

a. Continuous Assessment

Continuous quality improvement is a foundation feature of the scheme. To facilitate its establishment and promulgation within an organisation, the scheme contains the following formal Continuous Assessment Provisions:

Accreditation

Special Revisit

Provision for a Special Revisit to an organisation applies where:

b. Eligibility & Application

To be eligible to participate in the ACAS, the healthcare organisation must::

Standards Structure                                                                                                    

The IHSAB Acute Care Accreditation Standards form the cornerstone of the Acute Care Accreditation Scheme and provide a framework within which identification and progression of quality and safety improvement initiatives can be effected in participating organisations.

The Standards apply across the entire organisation and are not restricted to departments or professional groups.

The standards are grouped via five categories. These are:

Care / Service Standards facilitate assessment of performance with respect to provision of healthcare and/or service to patients/clients. They are founded on a population health approach which emphasises the aspiration of healthy populations. Seamlessness / Integrated care across the continuum linking primary care, acute care, long term care, rehabilitation, home care etc. is also advocated. In addition, the Standards follow the patient/client as he/she moves through an episode of care i.e. from access to care/service through assessment, planning of care/treatment etc. and implementing care/service to transfer, discharge and follow-up.

Environmental & Facilities Management Standards provide the basis for an organisation to assess and evaluate its performance in all areas pertinent to management of its physical surroundings and equipment. The Standards cover, inter alia, the planning and development of environment management services, managing physical resources, minimising adverse events, the impact of the organisation on the environment etc.

Human Resources Management Standards provide the basis for an organisation to assess and evaluate its performance with respect to its human capital. These Standards emphasise the human resource function across the organisation, rather than the Human Resources Department or its equivalent. The Standards cover, inter alia, issues such as selection and recruitment of personnel, enhancing personnel performance and provision of a healthy work environment.

Information Management Standards pertain to the information management function across the organisation. As such, the focus in not IT/IS based. They facilitate an organisation in assessing and evaluating planning, obtaining, management and security of data and information provisions.

Leadership and Partnerships Standards facilitate an organisation in assessing and evaluating its governance, management and collaborative performance. These Standards address, inter alia, development of organisation culture, ethics, allocation and management of resources, conduction of and participation in research, etc.

Some Useful Documents

You can find more information on IHSAB website.