Certification of Healthcare Services

Certification Audits

Over the coming months, summaries of certification audits for rest homes will be made available from the Certified Healthcare Services Providers page.

They are being published to provide the public with more information about the quality of care provided in rest homes,

The summaries, and other relevant information, will be published for all rest homes as their certifications come up for renewal after 1 June 2009, therefore it will take some time before current certification audit summaries are available for all rest homes.

In time, this website will also include audit summaries for all other certified residential services, such as residential disability services.

More information on Certification Audits is provided below:

Background

Under the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001, all rest homes and other aged residential care facilities must be audited and certified to ensure they are providing safe and reasonable care and meet the standards set out in the Act.

Residential care facilities are certified for set periods of time up to a maximum of five years. When the certification expires, facilities must be re-audited and their certification renewed. Certification audits are carried out as part of the regulatory process governing all health care services.

What information is included in the audits?

All rest homes and other certified health care services will be listed with the following information:

name of the organisation that owns the service
name of the service (provider name)
number of beds (hospital, rest home, dementia)
start and end date of the certification
certification period (number of months)
Name of the agency that audited the service (Designated Audit Agency)

Rest home audit information will include:

a factual summary prepared by the Designated Audit Agency that undertook the audit
a table showing the rest home’s achievement against the Health and Disability Sector Standards using a four point scale

Related legislation

Under the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001, the Director General of Health is responsible for certifying health care services. Certification replaced licensing under earlier Acts of Parliament.

Who conducts the audits?

Audits of rest homes and health care facilities are conducted by Designated Audit Agencies.

What standards are the audits based on

The Designated Audit Agencies audit against the Health and Disability Sector Standards, Infection Control Standards and Restraint Minimisation and Safe Practice Standards.

The standards cover more than 100 aspects of quality and safety and are available on the Standards New Zealand website (www.standards.co.nz).

How are the audits conducted?

For rest homes, each audit team includes at least one registered nurse. As part of the audit the team observes staff, the processes involved in caring for residents, interaction with residents and the general environment. The audit team also undertakes interviews and reviews clinical records, policies and procedures.

What types of audits are there?

There are different types of audits done by the Designated Audit Agencies. The Ministry of Health uses these audits to assist in determining how long the certification should be given for, and any ongoing requirements for monitoring.

Certification and re-certification audits:
New services can be certified for up to three years. Services that have been operating for some time can be certified for up to five years as long as they have continued to improve the quality of the service.
Provisional audits:
These are done when new rest homes are opened or there is a change of ownership. The maximum period of certification for a provisional audit is 6 months.
Surveillance audits:
These are done at the mid-point of a certification period as part of on-going monitoring.
Documentation audits and progress reporting:
These do not necessarily include an on-site visit by the auditors and occur as part of the monitoring process in between surveillance audits.

There are also a number of other types of audits undertaken in the health and disability sector. These include:

Ministry of Health Inspections which are conducted in response to a serious complaint made either to the Ministry of Health, a District Health Board or the Health and Disability Commissioner.
Contractual audits undertaken by District Health Boards or other agencies that contract with health care service providers, either as routine monitoring processes or in response to a complaint.
Financial audits undertaken by District Health Boards.
Investigations undertaken by the Health and Disability Commissioner in response to a complaint against the Code of Rights.

Disclaimer

Material published by the Ministry of Health on this site is believed to be reliable and accurate at the time of placement on the website. View the full Ministry of Health Disclaimer.

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Page last updated: 29 May 2009