Quality Assurance

Certified World Class Standards

Accreditation

On 17th March 2010, the CHKS Awards Panel in the UK issued confirmation that Galway Hospice had been awarded both CHKS Accreditation and ISO 9001:2008 Certification, becoming the first hospice in Ireland to achieve full accreditation across all of its services, and the first hospice in Ireland to be awarded this prestigious dual accreditation. Through subsequent annual inspections, Galway Hospice has maintained this dual accreditation since then, and remains (as of 2015) the only palliative care centre to have these certified dual world-class standards.

In addition, in 2011 and again in 2014, Galway Hospice was awarded the CHKS International Quality Award, which is a Europe-wide award for exceptional standards and achievements in quality care and management systems. Galway Hospice is the only hospice in Europe to have achieved this award, not just once, but twice.

The service-specific accreditation programmes of CHKS (Caspe Healthcare Knowledge Systems – part of the Capita Group plc) are approved by the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) and by the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS).

Accreditation independently validates an organisation’s commitment to continuing improvement, and its capability of providing quality services. CHKS awards Accreditation to healthcare organisations which demonstrate that they have fully complied with approved international standards relating to legal and professional requirements, safety of patients, staff and visitors, patients’ rights and accepted sound organisational practice and clinical management systems in healthcare.

ISO Certification is a respected mark of quality, recognised across the world. ISO 9001:2008 is a standardised framework for a quality management system, regardless of what the user organisation does, its size, or whether it is in the public or private sector. Certification to ISO 9001:2008 provides externally verified assurance that an organisation has a proven systematic and consistent approach to the delivery of a quality management system.

As a dual-certified Centre of Excellence in the provision of palliative care services, Galway Hospice aims to continuously improve and develop its services, enhancing its role as the hub of palliative care services in the region and as a resource for best practice to all palliative care service providers both locally and nationally.