Extension to transition timescales
Due to the significant pressures that the pandemic has posed on resources and service delivery over the last 2 years, UKAS, together with the Accreditation Clinical Advisory Group (ACAG) who own the standard, recognises that this has impacted on the ability of some Healthcare providers to meet the requirements of the IQIPS Standard v2: 2020 in the current timeframe. Therefore, the decision has been made to extend the deadline for gaining accreditation to the revised standard by three months to 31st December 2023.
Improving Quality in Physiological Services
The IQIPS Standard v2:2020 was published in October 2020 replacing the IQIPS Standard v1:2012 which will now become redundant as of 31st December 2023 rather than 1st October 2023.
Live webinars have been delivered to provide training in the new standard to both healthcare providers and assessors. With the pressures of the pandemic and staffing resources there have been challenges for all services to maintain their conformity to the standard and accreditation requirements. UKAS therefore commends those who have managed their assessments and transition recommendations for their engagement, dedication and desire to continue to provide confidence for their stakeholders and ultimately their patients.
The transition so far
- As of November 2022, 1 year since the transition assessments began, UKAS has transitioned 23 of 78 IQIPS healthcare providers to the revised standard. A further 17 customers have been recommended for transition subject to close out of their mandatory findings.
- The main areas of nonconformity arising as common themes across assessments are:
- Uncertainty of measurement
- Definition and implementation of management review
- Completeness of quality manual
- No defined quality policy or related measurable objectives
- Limited nonconformity management across the wider QMS
What is expected of you now?
For those who are yet to have a transition assessment, ensure you have completed the gap analysis of your service to the new standard and discuss this and any training needs with your Assessment Manager. Your assessment date must fall on or before August 2023 to meet the deadlines. This can be done in conjunction with your planned assessment or separately and should be discussed with your Assessment Manager.
For those services who have been granted accreditation to the revised standard moving forward this will be the standard that services will continue to be assessed against within their 4-year accreditation cycle.
UKAS now delivers a dedicated IQIPS Standard Awareness course which can be useful to anyone involved in the accreditation process to gain a better understanding of the IQIPS standard and how to meet the requirements.
There is a guidance document on the UKAS website that has been updated to reflect and support customers – IQI-4000-IQIPS-V2-Standard-Statements-Guidance
Should you require any clarification to the above please contact:
Laura Booth (Senior Assessment Manager, Healthcare) – [email protected]
You can download a pdf copy of this Technical Bulletin here.