The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) and the Mental Health Commission (MHC) have today published a practical guide to support staff in health, mental health and social care services who are involved in implementing national standards.

This guide, ‘How to Put National Standards into Practice: An Implementation Guide for Health, Mental Health and Social Care Services’, was developed in collaboration with HIQA, the MHC and other stakeholders.

The guide acts as a supporting resource for service providers, helping them to understand what national standards are, what they mean for their service and how to put national standards into practice in their own service setting, using a collaborative approach.

HIQA and the MHC encourage services to use this guide to reflect on and identify opportunities to improve the quality and safety of their service, using national standards as a resource for quality improvement. 

Rachel Flynn, Director of Health Information and Standards in HIQA said: “We are delighted to publish this guide in collaboration with the Mental Health Commission on how to put national standards into practice. The guide is informed by a thorough review of research evidence and extensive engagement with stakeholders. We believe it provides a helpful and practical resource for health, mental health and social care services to implement national standards and drive quality and safety.”

Gary Kiernan, Director of Regulation at the Mental Health Commission welcomed the publication of the new implementation guide: “This guide is being launched at a particularly pertinent time for mental health services. The recently published Mental Health Bill provides for the expansion of regulation to include community mental health residences and community mental health teams. It is envisaged that the guide will become a resource that services can use to prepare for regulation, and for all mental health services to deliver quality and excellence.”

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Further information:
Marty Whelan, Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement 
085 805 5202 / mwhelan@hiqa.ie

Notes to Editor:

• HIQA and the MHC develop national standards for health, mental health and social care services. These standards contain descriptions of the systems, structures, processes and procedures that services need to have in place to provide safe, high-quality, person-centred care and support.
• The guide is designed to support staff along the journey of implementing national standards, from getting ready for new national standards to identifying opportunities to improve quality and safety in services in line with existing standards.
• The guide provides staff with a stepped process for using national standards to improve the quality and safety of their service. It equips staff with practical tools, templates and additional resources.
• The guide contains:
  • A self-appraisal tool to support staff to discuss what national standards mean in their setting.
  • An action plan template to help staff to prepare a plan for implementing changes.
  • A checklist that can be used to keep track of progress for steps outlined in the guide.