Central Bayside

Community Health Services

Quality Improvement & Community Services Accreditation

QICSA

Writing

QICSA is an incorporated association based in Victoria and it conducts an accreditation and quality improvement program under license from the Quality Improvement Council (QIC). QIC is a national organisation responsible for publishing national standards and ensuring consistency in accreditation approaches used for Primary Care Services.


The Nature of the QIC Standards


The QIC standards are based on a social view of health. This view recognises that the success of community based health interventions relies upon an appropriate response to the social context within which individuals and communities function. Not only specific technical intervention, but also broadly based information, support and education are seen as fundamental to the long-term success of strategies for optimising health. A social view of health also recognises that individuals have a right to make decisions about their own wellbeing and in itself this process contributes significantly to better health outcomes.

The Core Concepts

  1. The value of continuous quality improvement to enhance a service’s capacity to deliver more efficient and effective outcomes for its consumers and communities.
  2. Participative decision-making involving consumers, staff and other stakeholders in service planning, programs and evaluation.
  3. A population focus which considers the capacity of the service to contribute to meeting the main needs of the community of interest.
  4. The importance of working collaboratively with other service providers, funding bodies and sectors to ensure both continuity of care and optimum service planning and delivery.
  5. A commitment to ensuring services are provided on the basis of prioritising needs taking account of physical, economic, geographical, cultural and other barriers that people may encounter.
  6. A commitment to services being accessible to, available to and appropriate for individuals and communities of interest.
  7. Accountability to consumers, the community of interest, funding bodies and other stakeholders through efficient and effective management practices.

 

The Review Method

A report is written based on a review of services using the QIC standards and review process. External review personnel, appointed by QICSA, collect information about a service from:

  • a comprehensive written self-assessment completed by the service
  • document reviews and a facilities inspection
  • interviews conducted with staff and management.

QIC has established a set of Essential Requirements which while being related to the QIC standards are a stand alone set of requirements which must be met for accreditation. Compliance with these requirements is assessed in detail by review personnel.

Review personnel also review other selected matters in detail. The service’s self-assessment record is relied upon for the review of any matters that are not addressed directly by the Review Managers.

 

Continuous Quality Improvement


QICSA identifies Quality Improvement themes that are assessed as having industry-wide relevance to the services that it accredits. These themes guide review personnel in the review of service activities that will be at the centre of the continuous quality improvement goals that apply to this service between this and the next accreditation review.

 

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