Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 May 2012
666 Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Health if the Health Information Quality Authority audit tool in respect of the 2009 national standards has regard to 1994 and 1998 biological agents regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25446/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra671 Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Health the audit tool the Health Information Quality Authority used to evaluate the national standards from 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25495/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 666 and 671 together.
Under Section 8 of the Health Act 2007, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has statutory power to set standards on safety and quality in relation to services provided by the HSE and service providers in accordance with specified Acts. The Authority is also charged with monitoring compliance with such standards.
HIQA published a number of standards in 2009 including the National Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections (May 2009) which I presume the Deputy is referring to in his question. The development of these National Standards consisted of a series of steps to ensure that they were person centred, evidence based, clear, valid, measurable and fit for purpose.
The Authority established an internal project team that was responsible for the overall development of the Standards. The project team conducted a comprehensive review of the available Irish and international literature and held a series of meetings with key stakeholders. A public consultation was also held on the draft Standards. An Advisory Group, to ensure that advice from the public and professionals contributed to the formation of the Standards, provided technical advice and provided feedback to the Authority's project team.
The Authority does not use a particular audit tool to evaluate the National Standards. Rather, there are a number of international and national audit/assessment tools that can be adapted by all health and social care services to support the process of evaluating their compliance against the National Standards. The Authority expects to see effective internal monitoring and reporting systems for the key aspects of the National Standards proportionate to the scale and complexity of the services. This does not mean measuring everything all the time, but rather developing a portfolio of qualitative and quantitative measures to provide adequate assurance of compliance for the board, governing body or responsible clinician for the service.
