The project’s aims

This project was set up to develop health promotion quality standards for Healthy Care Homes that address a total organisational approach to quality.

By teasing out the key standards applicable, the process undertaken by the homes helps to raise all standards, and thus the overall quality of care provided.

Further enhancement of quality is also achieved by the sharing of ‘good practice’.

The standards developed focus on

The maintenance of good health

The promotion of health and well being, for staff, clients and visitors to the care home

The demonstration of partnerships developed in the community.

The tool developed is based on the Health Promoting Hospitals / Trusts ‘Self assessment and peer review toolkit’ developed in the South and West NHS Region. The project group agreed to adopt the broad themes and process already developed for this tool, as they felt that it was also applicable to care homes.

There are six sections :

Management Issues
Customer Care
Healthy Workplaces
Hotel Services and Environmental Issues
Community and Health Alliances
Clinical Audit and Effectiveness

In each of the sections there are criteria and attached guidelines for a basic and advanced level of achievement. There is also a scoring system for three levels of accreditation.