MHC National Quality Framework reaches one-year milestone
As we mark the first anniversary since the official launch of the new ‘National Quality Framework’ for the Mental Health Commission (MHC), almost 70% of sign-ups to the digital self-appraisal toolkit have come from community-based mental health services.
Working in partnership with colleagues from the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland and following extensive stakeholder collaboration, the ‘National Quality Framework: Driving Excellence in Mental Health Services’, also referred to as the ‘National Quality Framework’, sets out the themes, standards and associated criteria considered essential for delivering quality and recovery-oriented mental health services in Ireland.
The ‘National Quality Framework’ aims to provide clear guidance for people using mental health services, whether they are accessing inpatient mental health services, community residences, or community mental health services. It empowers patients and their families to know what to expect in terms of quality and to ask the right questions when they are not satisfied with their care.
Reflecting on the 12 months since its launch, the Director of Regulation at the Mental Health Commission, Gary Kiernan, highlighted the importance of the new self-appraisal toolkit. “The free to use digital toolkit is designed to assist mental health services to efficiently conduct online self-assessments and to have oversight of quality criteria across multiple sites at service, regional and national levels.
“While the toolkit is in its infancy in terms of rollout, the initial results that we have received highlight a positive reaction from services and a strong early adoption by those operating in community-based mental healthcare. We are very pleased to note the high uptake in the community residential sector in advance of the proposed expansion of regulation to these services”
Mental health care services who would like to learn more about the digital toolkit, including anything from accessing training to creating an account, can contact standards@mhcirl.ie or follow the links below.
For access to the National Quality Framework and supporting documents:
