Our Six Strategic Directions - Healthy Workforce • Healthy Hospitals • Healthy Partnerships • Healthy Communities • Healthy Resources • Healthy Leadership

Search:

  
Delivering a Healthy WA
Office of Safety and Quality in Healthcare
To promote customer focused, safe, quality health care in Western Australia

Accreditation

What is accreditation?

  • Accreditation is a formal process by which a recognised accreditation body assesses whether a health care organisation meets a set of agreed healthcare standards.
  • Nationally and in Western Australia, the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) is the largest healthcare accreditation body.
  • ACHS is an independant, not-for-profit organisation and is funded primarily from its membership base.
  • The ACHS is comprised approximately of 58% of members from the public sector and 42% of members from the private sector.

Why is accreditation done?

Meeting accreditation standards provides assurance to consumers and health service management that those services are safe and of a high quality.

Who is responsible?

  • Participation in an accreditation program is voluntary for public hospitals in Western Australia. However, the majority engage in an accreditation program because of a strong committment to quality improvement.
  • In WA private hospitals are required to meet minimum standards in order to be licensed under the Hospitals and Health Services Act 1927. In addition, the vast majority of private hospitals are required to participate in accreditation programs or to maintain accreditation as a condition of funding.

When is accreditation done?

The core ACHS accreditation program is the Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program (EQuIP), launched in 1996. EQuIP member organisations are guided by the ACHS through the four-year cycle of self assessment, organisation-wide survey and periodic review to meet ACHS standards.

National review of accreditation

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care have been requested by health ministers to undertake a national review of accreditation arrangements in Australia and to propose an alternative model for both the public and private sector. The main aim of the review is to streamline accreditation arrangements and to develop a national set of standards. The final report is due for ministerial approval in March 2008.