Accreditation Standards
The Accreditation Standards "RACAS 40" of Residential Aged Care Accreditation Scheme is based on the accreditation criteria used by oversea countries, and with reference to the standards for licenses of local residential care homes and service quality standards (SQS) of the Social Welfare Department. Overall, the "RACAS 40" is tailor-made for Hong Kong residential aged care homes. The latest Accreditation Standard RACAS 40:2019 has been in effect from 17 October 2019.
The only accreditation organization in Hong Kong being recognized by The International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua)
 The international Society for Quality Assurance in Health Care (ISQA) was established in 1985. In October 1993, ISQA was renamed ‘The International Society for Quality in Health Care’ --- ISQua which is The International Society for Quality in Health Care. ISQua (2012) aims to inspire, promote and support continuous improvement in the safety and quality of health care worldwide. ISQua has a network that spans 100 countries and five continents; Whatever your level of involvement in health care, as an individual or as an institution, joining our global network will help you to achieve your goals; and whatever your health care role, be it as a clinician, manager, policy maker, academic or other, if your remit is quality and safety then we offer a supportive, professional environment to help you perform more effectively. One of their key partners is the World Health Organization (WHO) and we assist with technical and policy advice as well as knowledge sharing as part of WHO initiatives. ISQua is an essential resource for policy makers, leading patient safety agencies, health care workers and other health professionals around the world.
We have emphasized on conforming to the international standard since the establishment of Residential Aged Care Accreditation Scheme (RACAS). In 2006, RACAS applied for accreditation standards. In May 2008, a successful the application was endorsed and ISQua granted accreditation status to RACAS.
ISQua Accreditation Standards contains 6 principles：
- Standards Development - Standards are planned, developed and evaluated through a defined and rigorous process under Standards.
- Standards Measurement - Standards enable consistent and transparent rating and measurement of achievement.
- Organisational Role, Planning and Performance - Standards assess the capacity and efficiency of health and social organizations.
- Safety and risk - Standards include measures to manage risk and to protect the safety of patients/service users, staff and visitors.
- Patient / Service User Focus - The standards focus on patients/service users and reflect the continuum of care.
- Quality Performance - Standards require service providers to regularly monitor, evaluate and improve the quality of services.
The above 6 international principles for healthcare standards from ISQua proved that the “RACAS 40” conforms to international standards for residential aged care. When a residential home (RCHE) was participated in Residential Aged Care Accreditation Scheme (RACAS) and qualified as an accreditation institution. It means that those accreditation institutions have achieved an appropriate level, and with the same level of other residential homes in developed countries. RACAS can help seniors and their family members feel at ease when choosing residential homes.
The 40 standards in of “RACAS 40” cover 4 domains of core instrument including Governance, Environment, Service flow and care process and Information management and communication.
To obtain the full version of "RACAS 40 : 2019", please fill in the book order form and submit it by person or mail.
Accreditation Standards
Governance
Residential homes need to establish effective governance; play a leading role in unifying the staff, thus contributing to continuous improvement of service quality so that residents could receive high quality service. |
1. Total quality management
4. Purchase of
service
36. Legal responsibilities
32. Roles and responsibilities |
2. Service ethics
5. Occupational safety and health
30. Review and update policies and procedures
33. Human resource management
|
3. Risk management
35. Financial management
40. Protection of residents’ rights
34. Planning and evaluation
|
Environment
Residential homes need to provide safe, hygienic and comfortable environment, facilities and services, protect residents and meet their needs, and building positive relations and cooperate with the community.
|
6. Environment and facilities
9. Community partnership |
7. Provision of services
37. Safe environment
|
8. Food and environmental hygiene |
Service flow and care process
Residential homes need to establish a set of planning, supervision and service improvement process to meet the requirements of safety, hygiene and caring, and to meet the needs of residents and protect their rights and privacy.
|
10. Post-admission care
13. Skin care and bedsore prevention
16. Nutrition
19. Transfer skills
22. Pain management
25. Psychological support and social care
39. Assess residents needs
|
11. Medication management
14. Fall management
17. Mobility assessment and management
20. Infection control
23. Death and bereavement
26. Recreational and community activities |
12. Continence management
15. Feeding
18. Use of physical and chemical restraints
21. Cognitive, emotional, sensory and communication ability of residents
24. Special nursing procedures
38. Entry and exit |
Information management and communication
Residential homes need to establish an effective information management system as the basis for decision-making and continuous improvement and facilitate communication with external parties.
|
|
27. Information
management
28. Communication
|
29. Provision of information |
31. Records
|
Development and revision of Accreditation Standards
Accreditation Division is committed to updates accreditation standards regularly, to ensure the standards in achieving high standard of care , support the operations of the residential homes and improve their care quality continuously. Accreditation Division keep track of developments in health care standards and practices, government regulations, social conditions and feedback on RACAS which may indicate the need to standards.
Features:
- Review content of updated the accreditation standards
- Review wording of the accreditation standards
Process:
- with a view to identifying room for improvements to be made to the existing RACAS standards through professional and academic publications, conferences, government regulations etc, collect and analyse the feedback from various sources to the implementation of RACAS;
- when formulating and recommending to the Accreditation Steering Committee(ASC) the specific amendments to be made to the standards, the Standards Review Sub-committee should take account of not only the aim to improve service quality but also the question of feasibility and likely reactions from RCHE service providers and users and from the public;
- after the ASC has approved in principle any proposed amendments, the Accreditation Division will consult RCHE service providers and assessors on the proposals. The views received from the consultation shall be included in the paper requesting the ASC’s approval for the amendment; and
- Formal approval for any amendment by the ASC.
Timetable：
| Phase |
Task |
Objectives |
Phase I
(2years &
6 months) |
- Literature review of best
practice
- Study was carried out in
reviewing ISQua IAP
standard requirement
- Further work on ISO 17021
- Review local and
international updated
regulations or guidelines:
- Code of practice for
residential care homes
- Residential Care
Homes (Elderly
Persons) Ordinance
- Privacy Protection
Ordinance
- Waste Disposal
Ordinance regulations (medical waste)
- Codes of practice for
professionals
- WHO
- The National Pressure
Ulcer Advisory Panel
(NPUAP)
- Department of Health
infection control
guidelines
- ISQua standard
requirement
- Set priorities of standards to
be revised.
- Form Standard Review
Sub-committee
|
- Environmental scanning
of trends relevant to
the
specific standards area
- Feedback from current
and potential users,
professional, purchaser,
provider and patient /
service user groups,
governments and other
stakeholders
- Draw reference from the
knowledge and advice of
experts
|
Phase II (6
months) |
- Review data of RCHEs
- Collect opinion from
accredited homes
- Formulate standard review
questionnaire
- Collect and analyse data
- Accreditation standard
review
|
Using evaluation data collated from previous editions |
Phase III
(6 months) |
- Analyse data and integrate
the questionnaire report.
- Draft revised standards
|
|
Phase IV
(6 months) |
- Collect feedback from the
ASC and approval of draf
t revised standards.
- Introduce draft revised
standards to RCHEs via
workshops
- Introduce draft revised
standards to assessors and
collect feedback via
workshops
|
Standards are tested and
evaluated by providers and
surveyors prior to approval to
ensure that each standard is
relevant, understandable,
measurable, beneficial and
achievable |
Phase V(6
months) |
|
Standards were tried and
tested before approval |
Phase VI
(6 months) |
- Fine-tune the revised
standards
- ASC approve revised
standards.
- Send letter to all RECHs to
announce new version of the
standard and the effective
date will be 3 – 6 months
later
|
- Obtain approval of revised
standards
- Inform homes and
assessors
|
Phase VII
|
- Release new version of
standards in RACAS home
page and send notice to all
RECHs and assessors via letter and email.
- Use new version of
standards to conduct audi
|
|
|
