We have been looking into accreditation for our department but are hesitant to move with ISO. Having worked in Industry with ISO for 9 years i know that it can become a paper excercise and lose its focus over time. Are there any other standards new or old which would more suit a hospital environment. Just because everyone else has it, that does not mean it is the best.

jci is supposed to be the best in healthcare accreditation.

try this


ashoke

Why do you need accreditation, Mike (who are these people, anyway)?

Why not implement your own Policies and Procedures? That way they can be developed over the years without having to refer back to some organization or other who knows far less than you about what you are doing. It’s also cheaper!

Once again, I reiterate that "quality assurance" and all the rest is nothing more than what well-organized technicians have been doing for years. What makes you think that an outside organization is any better equipped than yourself in this regard? You have the local knowledge, after all. All they can do is ask the questions and tick the boxes. Granted, (hopefully) they will be the right questions! Then they will go away, write a report, produce some smart forms, and then present the bill!

If you want to "standardize" (ie, copy what everyone else is doing), or need any prompting regarding Policies and Procedures, you will find plenty of food for thought in the Articles section of this website.

Your sentiments are great in theory, but ISO is the benchmark. If you have it, your customers can easily ascertain the potential level of service they could expect. If you run your own system, they will have to visit your premises and monitor your work procedures to get this.

The accreditation is not for yourself but for your customers....

If your customers have contracted with you to have a specified service provided, and you fail to satisfy or otherwise impress them, then they have recourse to the law. What's wrong with that, John? A ISO sticker doesn't actually prove anything much beyond an indication that you have some sort of system in place. It is not a statement saying that it is "the best", "first class", or whatever. No, if they're actually interested, your customers will still need to visit to ascertain matters for themselves. Better keep the biscuit tin well-stocked, then.

Exactly JohnBhoy. It's better for our customers to know that we work and are audited to a well known standard rather than accept the work of a non-accredited organisation.

John

Correct Geoff. The only reason In-house ebme's relly need ISO is to fend off MSV's. If a Multi service vendor company comes in to tender for work they will almost certainly state they have ISO to the trusts board. This could be a big factor in deciding whether to stay in-house or go the MSV route.

Don't you work as part of the National Health Service, then, John(s)? Why can't that be enough for your customers (whom, can we assume, are part of the same Service)? Does the ICU (for example) carry ISO status (...no, don't tell me!)? Sounds like wheels-within-wheels to me (the taxpayer, that is)!

Please see post above yours...

Geoff

It's not the Trust as such that gets the ISO acreditation it's individual departments. Here Med Physics and SCBU have it and now as part of estates we are having to go for it.