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Latest News
Minister Appoints New RQIA Board Members (Updated April 2013)
In April 2013 the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety appointed five new members to RQIA’s Board for a four year term of office. They are: Brendan Garland; Professor Mary McColgan; Daniel McLarnon; Patricia O’Callaghan. These appointments took effect on 22 April 2013. Dr John Jenkins has also been appointed to RQIA and joins the Board on 6 May 2013.
To view the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety press release on these appointments click here. To view profiles for all RQIA Board members click here.
RQIA E-Zine Published (Updated 30 April 2013)
RQIA's latest E-Zine, Assurance Challenge Improvement, providing an update on the latest RQIA activities has now been published.To access this E-Zine, click here.
RQIA Enforcement Policy, April 2013 (Updated April 2013)
RQIA’s new Enforcement Policy was approved by RQIA’s Board in March 2013, and came into operation in April 2013. You can access the Enforcement Policy and associated procedures here.RQIA takes a stepped approach to enforcement, and this policy sets out our actions where we identify breaches of regulations and/or minimum standards. It also sets out processes to appeal these actions.
Where there is evidence of a breach of regional standards, RQIA may issue an improvement notice to a HSC organisation. Since April 2012 RQIA has published all enforcement activity in relation to adult services here and this practice will continue in the public interest.
RQIA’s Regulation of Independent Health Care Services (Updated 05 March 2013)
RQIA regulates a range of independent health care services in line with The Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 and The Independent Health Care Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005. These include: independent hospitals, clinics and hospices; private dental practices; and services providing certain prescribed techniques using certain classifications of lasers or intense pulse light (IPL) treatments.Under current legislation, RQIA’s inspections of these services are based on The Independent Health Care Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005, and the draft Independent Health Care Minimum Standards - Hospitals and Clinics.
It should be noted, RQIA does not have any statutory power to assess the clinical decisions made by a doctor in any facility, including an independent clinic.
You can access RQIA's inspection reports for all adult regulated services, including independent health care services, here.
RQIA Publishes Review of Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency, March 2013 (Updated 7 March 2013)
Today, RQIA has published its Independent Review of the Governance Arrangements of the Northern Ireland Guardian Ad Litem Agency (NIGALA). The review team used NIGALA's six principles of good governance and Theme 1 of the HPSS Quality Standards for Health and Social Care in respect of corporate leadership and accountability to examine the effectiveness of leadership, professional and corporate accountability.This review makes 17 recommendations for consideration by DHSSPS and NIGALA, which provide a framework to further strengthen and improve governance arrangements across the organisation.
You can access a copy of the review report here.
RQIA Publishes 2011-12 Annual Regulation Report (Updated 04 March 2013)
RQIA has published its Annual Regulation Report, which provides an overview of RQIA’s regulation activity over the period 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012. It outlines RQIA’s role in respect of registration and inspection of services, and includes a summary of inspection outcomes from the different categories of service.To access this and other corporate documents, click here.
GMC and Other Regulators Launch Joint Revalidation Handbook (Updated 04 March 2013)
A new guide to help Boards check their organisations are placing quality and safety at the heart of their services for patients has been published.'Effective governance to support medical revalidation' is a handbook for Boards and governing bodies to help them assess if their organisations have strong enough systems in place to support quality patient care and revalidation.
For further information on medical revalidation and to access a copy of the handbook, click here.
RQIA Publishes Overview of Safeguarding Arrangements for Children and Vulnerable Adults in Mental Health and Learning Disability Hospitals, February 2013 (Updated 14 February 2013)
Today, RQIA has published its independent review of safeguarding arrangements for children and vulnerable adults in mental health and learning disability hospitals across Northern Ireland. The safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults is a shared responsibility. Safeguarding arrangements must be effective across a number of dimensions including awareness, prevention, identification and response. RQIA’s review has found that while robust policies and procedures for safeguarding are in place across Northern Ireland, these are not always consistently and appropriately applied. To ensure that patients' rights are fully protected, there are areas that require to be addressed by trusts. These include: variation in thresholds for referring safeguarding concerns; the use of restraint by untrained staff; the application of the correct procedures to protect patients' money and possessions; and appropriate training for staff in vulnerable adults and child protection procedures. The review, based on inspections of 33 wards, makes 26 recommendations for improvement to ensure the safety and wellbeing of this particularly vulnerable group. Individual inspection reports are available here, and RQIA continues to monitor progress on the recommendations within these reports. You can access a copy of the overview report here.RQIA Fire Safety Seminar 27 March 2013 - Learning from Rosepark Fatal Accident Inquiry (Updated 12 February 2013)
RQIA invites registered managers and responsible persons from nursing and adult and children’s residential homes to attend an information seminar on learning from the inquiry into the deaths of 14 residents at Rosepark Care Home in Scotland. The session will take place in Glenmachan Conference Centre, Glenmachan Road, Belfast, BT4 2NN.For further information on how to book your place, click on the link to open the Fire Safety Seminar Flyer.
RQIA E-Zine Published (Updated 21 December 2012)
RQIA's latest E-Zine, Assurance Challenge Improvement, providing an update on the latest RQIA activities has now been published.To access this E-Zine, click here.
Report on Announced Inspection of Maghaberry Prison, March 2012 (Updated 17 December 2012)
An inspection report of Maghaberry Prison published today has found that standards have improved in the three years since the facility was last inspected. The prison was inspected in March 2012 by a multidisciplinary team of inspectors from Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons for England and Wales, RQIA and the Education and Training Inspectorate.Maghaberry Prison was assessed against the internationally recognised healthy prison standards, which examine the areas of safety, respect, purposeful activity and resettlement. RQIA welcomes the publication of this report, and endorses the recommendations of the review team, particularly the 16 recommendations in relation to provision of health services at the prison. You can access a copy of the report here.
RQIA Baseline Assessment of the Care of Children Under 18 Admitted to Adult Wards in Northern Ireland (Updated 12 December 2012)
RQIA has just published its independent review of arrangements for the provision of care for children under the age of 18 admitted to adult hospital wards. The review team calls for an agreed age limit up to which children should only be admitted to paediatric wards, and for the development of service plans to meet this goal.The review team found that almost 4,000 children were admitted to adult wards in Northern Ireland over the course of a year. Previous studies elsewhere in the United Kingdom present a clear consensus that when children are admitted to hospital they should be cared for in paediatric settings rather than in adult wards.
The review makes 14 recommendations for improvement to service delivery at all hospitals across Northern Ireland.
You can access a copy of the report here.
RQIA Review of the Implementation of the Cardiovascular Service Framework (Updated 21 November 2012)
RQIA has just published its Review of the Implementation of the Cardiovascular Service Framework. The framework was launched by DHSSPS in 2009 and sets out 45 standards for cardiovascular services. It was the first in a series of service specific frameworks to be developed.During the review RQIA noted widespread support for the service framework approach. This framework has facilitated service improvement and development, including: the establishment of a consultant post for adults with congenital heart disease; a screening programme for abdominal aortic aneurysm; and fast tracking of thrombolysis for stroke patients.
RQIA’s report makes ten recommendations for the implementation arrangements for future service frameworks. For each framework a regional lead officer should be identified to take forward the implementation process. A small number of high level indicators to monitor progress should be agreed, with suitable data sources identified. RQIA also welcomes the proposed development of a regional cardiovascular clinical network, to include patient involvement. This is an important initiative to build on the momentum that the framework implementation process has established.
You can access a copy of the report here.
RQIA Publishes Stage Two of the Review of the Implementation of the Northern Ireland Single Assessment Tool (Updated 07 November 2012)
RQIA has published stage two of its Northern Ireland Single Assessment Tool (NISAT) Review, which focused on the use by staff of the carer’s support and needs assessment tool within the Older People’s Programme of Care. The training provided to staff in the use of the tool, the impact for staff in the implementation of the tool, the views and experiences of carers subject to assessment using the tool.You can access this and all other RQIA review reports here.
Muriel Dickson Appointed Acting Director of Regulation and Nursing at RQIA (Updated 25 October 2012)
From 25 October 2012, Muriel Dickson is Acting Director of Regulation and Nursing at RQIA , following the departure of former director Phelim Quinn, who is taking up the role of Director of Regulation and Chief Social Services Inspector at the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) in the Republic of Ireland.RQIA Publishes Independent Review of Safeguarding Arrangements for Ralphs Close Residential Care Home (Updated 25 October 2012)
RQIA has published its independent review of the Western HSC Trust’s safeguarding arrangements at Ralphs Close Residential Care Home for adults with a learning disability. Following allegations of abuse of vulnerable adults at the home during July and August 2012, RQIA undertook an independent review to investigate the safeguarding arrangements in place at Ralphs Close which had been established as part of the protection plan for these vulnerable adults. The report makes 13 recommendations for improvement to the Western Trust.You can access the report here.
RQIA Publishes Review of the Implementation of Promoting Quality Care (Updated 24 October 2012)
RQIA has published its review of the implementation of Promoting Quality Care - good practice guidance on the assessment and management of risk across the five health and social care trusts in relation to: mental health; learning disability; addiction; child and adolescent mental health; and forensic services. The review makes a series of recommendations for improvement for the DHSSPS, the HSC Board and the five HSC trusts.You can access the report here.
Improvements noted in Hospital Hygiene Practice (Updated 16 October 2012)
The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) has published its overview report of hospital infection prevention and hygiene inspections conducted during 2011-12. This overview report highlights the findings of 45 infection prevention and hygiene inspections in 85 hospital wards across 30 hospital sites in Northern Ireland.These inspections focus attention on the importance of good practice in areas such as hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, effective cleaning practices and decontamination of equipment in fighting health care associated infections. While good hygiene practice can help reduce infection rates, there is no room for complacency, and a clear focus on continuous improvement must be firmly embedded in all hospital wards.
To view the overview report click here.
Consultation on the Guidelines for Palliative and End of Life Care in Nursing Homes and Residential Care Homes (Updated 4 October 2012)
The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) and Guidelines and Audit Implementation Network (GAIN) are currently consulting on draft guidelines for palliative and end of life care in nursing and residential care homes across Northern Ireland.To view the draft guidelines and for details on how to respond to the consultation, click here.
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