5
BC4 Assure your organisation delivers quality services
Overview
This standard is about developing and using systems and standards to ensure that the services your organisation delivers meet the expectations of users and the specifications in formal contracts. Systems and standards may include generic quality systems and standards such as ISO 9001 (2000), Investors in People and PQASSO or systems and standards specific to the area in which you work.
Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies.
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Knowledge and Understanding
You will need to know and understand:
- how to analyse the processes involved in delivering services
- how to identify areas of likely non-compliance
- how to assess risks
- how to assess the implications of the results of quality auditing for your organisation
- how to carry out cost-benefit analyses
- how to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences
- how to clarify people’s requirements and expectations
- how report on results, trends and developments clearly and concisely
- how to make recommendations for improvements
- the importance of involving workers, service users and other stakeholders in quality, and how to do so
- the importance of continuous monitoring and how to carry this out
- the range of stakeholders in your organisation and their interests
- commissioners of your organisation’s services and their requirements
- users of your organisation’s services and their expectations
- your organisations resources, systems and information
- those involved in the delivery of quality services
- the resources and support required, and how to obtain and provide them
- the range of relevant quality systems and standards, their features and benefits
- the systems, procedures and checks necessary to deliver services of consistent quality
- your organisation’s quality systems and standards
- the principle, purpose and process of quality auditing and how to apply them
- the range of corrective actions that can be taken in the event of non-compliance with quality systems and standards
Performance Criteria
You must be able to do the following:
- clarify with key stakeholders the purpose and expected benefits of your organisation’s quality systems and standards
- clarify with commissioners specifications for the services to be delivered including how they will be monitored and evaluated
- clarify with service users and other stakeholders their expectations of the quality of services to be provided
- analyse the processes involved in delivering services in order to decide what systems, procedures and checks are necessary to ensure services of consistent quality
- select and develop quality systems and standards that are capable of assuring specifications and expectations are consistently met
- make best use of existing resources, systems and information when designing and implementing quality systems and standards
- ensure those involved have sufficient details about developments in your organisation’s quality systems and standards at appropriate times for them to be able to fulfil their roles effectively
- identify the processes in your organisation where non-compliance with quality systems and standards is most likely
- identify the relative risks to your organisation of non-compliance with quality systems and standards for each of your organisation’s processes
- develop a programme of quality audits which prioritises areas of greatest risk and likely non-compliance
- involve service users and other stakeholders in monitoring the quality of service, where appropriate
- carry out quality audits in line with your quality systems and standards
- ensure your quality audits are sufficiently detailed to identify any areas of non-compliance with quality systems and standards
- agree with those concerned corrective action in respect of non-compliance with quality systems and standards and check to ensure that corrective action has been carried out
- check that quality systems and standards continue to be effective in delivering services that meet commissioners’ specifications and users’ requirements
- report on compliance with quality systems and standards and their effectiveness in delivering services of consistent quality
- assess the outcomes of quality monitoring for their implications for your organisation
- correctly identify trends and developments in perceived or actual quality of services and processes
- make recommendations for improving the quality of services and processes in a form which supports decision making
- ensure your recommendations clearly show the benefits that improvements could bring against the resources which would be need to be expended
- obtain and provide sufficient resources and support to allow improvements to be implemented successfully
- where sufficient resources are not available, you clearly identify the potential impact on quality
- monitor improvements for their effectiveness against agreed criteria
- encourage all those involved to contribute to continuously improving the quality of services and processes
Additional Information
This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health.
This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004):
Dimension: Core 5 Quality
This standard has replaced HCS F5.