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 32. Roles and responsibilities 35. Financial management | 2. Service ethics 5. Occupational safety and health 33. Human resource management 36. Legal responsibilities | 3. Risk management 30. Review and update policies and procedures 34. Planning and evaluation 40. Protection of residents’ rights | |
| 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 | 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 31. Records | 28. Communication | 29. Provision of information | |
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) |
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Phase II (6 months) |
| Using evaluation data collated from previous editions |
Phase III (6 months) |
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Phase IV (6 months) |
| 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) |
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Phase VII |
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