They cover the safety of facilities, equipment and practices, clinical and management systems, and the quality of client care and service. An accredited service will have spent years putting good systems and policies in place in preparation for survey. The staff will be committed to improving what they do and how they do it. They will respond appropriately to clients' needs and protect their rights. They will ensure clients and their families remain informed and involved in planning for their health care.
Accreditation is voluntary.
Health services take the step because they want an independent, outside authority to assess their performance so that consumers know how well they're doing their job. Accreditation is a multi-faceted process. Second, it includes an external evaluation of the quality of their services against those standards and contemporary professional practice and, if appropriate, the award of accreditation status. Third, it is a process of continuous quality improvement guided by the standards and ongoing review by Quality Health. This is in sharp contrast to quality certification models which tend to be inspectorial in nature, mandated by purchasers, and concerned with minimum compliance with contractual or statutory requirements.