QIC Standards 7th Edition pilot a success

QIC Health and Community Services Standards 7th Edition is currently under development, with the official release to be announced soon.

Through engagement  with QIP community stakeholders on expert panels, QIP Assessors and QIP community organisations involved in the pilot process, a large amount of feedback has been collated and interpreted to formulate a close to final draft.

The past 18 months of reviews, consultations and development have ensured the new Standards 7th Edition are reflective of industry trends and easy to interpret while being applicable to the environments that community services and health organisations operate in.

“The draft 7th Edition was seen as a definite improvement over the 6th Edition… A significant improvement in terms of structure and legibility.”
David Elkington – Salvation Army, Australian Southern Territory.

A restructure of the QIC Core Standards has resulted in a reduction to the number of standards, which cover 21 Criterion and 93 Indicator.

The simplification includes:

1. Governance
2. Management Systems
3. Consumers and community engagement
4. Diversity and cultural appropriateness
5. Service delivery

“These standards are clearer and have less duplication than the previous edition”
Isobel Moase – Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service.

To ensure the Core Standards are strengthened in their new format, several areas of change have been implemented between the Standards 6th and 7th Editions, including:

• A strengthened focus on governance, separating this area out from management systems
• Separation of knowledge management and information management for clarity of purpose
• Consideration for planning at a population level and individual level
• A NEW consumer and community engagement standard to place greater emphasis on access, advocacy, engagement, feedback including complaints, information, participation in review, designing and planning, privacy and rights.
• A NEW diversity and cultural appropriateness standard to reflect the importance of this topic within modern society and to place stronger accountability, consideration and measures around making improvements within organisational settings.

Once the Core Standards are released as an update to the current 6th edition Standards, the new QIC Clinical Standards will follow to specifically assist the varied needs identified within community health services.

With a range of positive feedback from the pilot participants, it’s clear to see that the updated 7th Edition will be a welcomed addition to the accreditation process. Be sure to keep an eye on the QIP website, social media channels and email communications for further updates to the QIC 7th Edition Standards.

Read our full article, distributed as part of our QIP Community Insight (QIP Community client e-newsletter), to find out more about the changes and feedback from the pilot participants by CLICKING HERE.

For any queries relating to accreditation against the QIC Standards. contact our QIP team on 1300 820 152 or email info@qip.com.au