Northern Ireland - national standards and key strategies
- National standards
- Key strategies.
National standards
Many publications on this page are in PDF format - see how to access PDF files.
Quality 2020: A 10 year strategy to protect and improve quality in health and social care in Northern Ireland
The aim of the Quality 2020 strategy is to establish a framework that will protect and improve quality within Northern Ireland's health and social care over the next 10 years. The strategy focuses on three key components: safety; effectiveness and patient and client focus. In delivering high quality health and social care this strategy also identifies the need to promote the following values: empowerment; involvement; respect; partnership; learning; community; continuity; equity and equality.
The Quality Standards for Health and Social Care (2006) (PDF, 538K)
This document sets out the quality standards that the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) considers people should expect from Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS). They will be used by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) to assess the quality of care provided by the HPSS in Northern Ireland. The Authority will monitor how the HPSS provide quality services and will report their findings to the Department and to the public. There is a statutory duty of quality on all HSS boards and trusts.
The standards, which will apply to health and social care in Northern Ireland, have been developed around five main themes: corporate leadership and accountability of organisations; safe and effective care; accessible, flexible and responsive services; promoting, protecting and improving health and social well-being; and effective communication and information.
The RQIA in conjunction with HPSS organisations, services users and carers, will agree how the standards will be interpreted to assess service quality. Specific tools will be designed to allow the RQIA to measure that quality and assist HPSS organisations to assess themselves. The standards will be reviewed before the end of 2008.
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Service Frameworks
Frameworks are being developed for key areas of health and social care to promote better integration of service delivery along pathways of care in specific areas and conditions. They aim to set out the types of services patients and users should expect, specify the Northern Ireland standards and activities required to support these, and link to good practice guidance. The area of the DHSSPS website provides links to the frameworks that are available and highlights priorities for future frameworks.
Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council for Nursing and Midwifery (NIPEC): Essence of Care
This section of the NIPEC website describes a project, which was completed in 2005, to implement Essence of Care benchmarks across care settings in Northern Ireland. There is a link to the project evaluation report. In 2006 NIPEC undertook a review of the progress made on the recommendations of the Evaluation report and presents the main findings along with the full review report published in 2007.
The Department of Health has updated Essence of Care following a consultation exercise late in 2009. It now contains 12 benchmarks, providing a structured and patient-centred approach to identifying best practice and setting standards for these fundamental aspects of care. It acts as a tool for sharing and comparing practice, for developing action plans for improvement and audit, and for identifying education and training needs. The 12 areas, each of which has its own benchmarks, are: bladder, bowel and continence care; the care environment; communication; food and drink; personal hygiene; prevention and management of pain; prevention and management of pressure ulcers; health and wellbeing; record-keeping; respect and dignity; safety and self care. The Essence of Care (EoC), was first launched in 2001 and emerging from the 1999 nursing strategy 'Making a difference', formed the basis of a government strategy for improving the quality of care and became an integral element of the clinical governance agenda. This edition supersedes the previous versions originating since 2001. See Essence of Care 2010.
Key strategies
You can also find related policy and reports within each of the six themes. View the six themes on the homepage.
Transforming Your Care (TYC)
This website describes the Transforming Your Care (TYC) initiative which commenced in June 2011 and which will direct the future shape of health and social care services in Northern Ireland. A consultation document Transforming Your Care: vision to action presents the proposals for how health and social care will be delivered.
The consultation document sets the context for this change, describes the 12 key principles underpinning the approach in TYC and sets out a future model of care which aims to organise care around the individual. This is translated into four key themes which run through the proposals set out for each area of care identified within the document. The consultation closes on 15 January 2013 - see Transforming Your Care: vision to action.
Trust, assurance and safety: the regulation of health professionals (2007) (PDF 282KB)
This White Paper sets out a programme of reform to the United Kingdom's system for the regulation of health professionals. It is complemented by 'Safeguarding patients' - the Government's response to the recommendations of the Fifth Report of the Shipman Inquiry and to the recommendations of the Ayling, Neale and Kerr/Haslam Inquiries.
It describes the measures required to ensure the independence of the national professional regulators, and the proposals for periodic revalidation of professional registration in which appraisal will be a key component. The processes for this revalidation will come through discussion with each profession and its regulator. Proposals are made for improving the investigation of concerns about health professionals at local and national levels, and for the extension of information held on professional registers and how this will be managed. The regulatory bodies will continue their responsibility for assuring the quality of educational standards.
Royal College of Nursing Policy Unit. Policy Briefing 04/2007: Trust, assurance and safety: the regulation of health professionals in the 21st Century (2007) (PDF 52KB)
This briefing presents the RCN view of the proposals made in the white paper, and provides a summary and synopsis of proposals that affect nursing regulation.
A healthier future - a twenty year vision for health and wellbeing in Northern Ireland 2005-2025 (2005) (PDF 637KB)
This strategy document sets out the overall direction of health policy in Northern Ireland. It aims to provide a vision of how health and social services in Northern Ireland will develop and function over the next twenty years. Five cross-cutting themes are identified; investing for health and wellbeing, involving people, teams which deliver, responsiveness and integrated services, and improving quality.
Caring for people beyond tomorrow - A strategic framework for the development of primary health and social care for individuals, families and communities in Northern Ireland (2005)
This presents a strategic framework to guide the development of policy and the future delivery of primary care services in Northern Ireland. It sets out a vision of what these services, which encompass both primary health and social care, will be like in 2025. The framework outlines the steps for the first five years identifying four high-level goals and specific actions to achieve these.
Best practice, best care: a framework for setting standards, delivering services and improving monitoring and regulation in the HPSS (2001) (PDF 786KB)
This consultation paper initiated the implementation of clinical and social governance in Northern Ireland setting out a framework to improve the quality of care. One of the outcomes was the creation of the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) which began work in April 2005.