Quality and patient safety training programmes are assessed against the ISQua EEA Guidelines and Standards for Quality and Patient Safety Training Programmes. This is a desktop/remote survey which takes place over the course of a week. Organisations are required to submit a self-assessment with supporting evidence via our online survey management tool – ISQua EEA Collaborate. Afterwards one international peer review surveyor will assess the organisation’s compliance with the Guidelines and Standards for Quality and Patient Safety Training Programmes.

Download and read carefully the Guidelines and Standards for Quality and Patient Safety Training Programmes

Scope of programme

This programme assesses continuous professional development training courses in quality and patient safety, or related topics designed for health and social care professionals. Such courses could include general programmes/courses such as introductory courses on patient safety and quality improvement or courses on a specific topic such as infection prevention and control; person-centred care; communication or clinical risk management among others.

These programmes/courses could be undertaken by health or social care professionals who wish to learn more about a specific topic to help them in their current role. These training programmes/courses could be designed and delivered by a variety of organisations including external evaluation organisations, professional representative groups such as Medical Associations or private providers. Training programmes developed as a partnership or collaboration between a professional group such as a Medical Association and an education institution and offered as a continuous professional development course can also be assessed under this programme.

NOTE: Programmes on quality and patient safety provided by universities or other third-level education institutions are outside the scope of this programme. It is anticipated that such programmes will be accredited in line with the university or education institution’s existing policy or requirements for accreditation of university provided education programmes.

Am I eligible?

To be eligible for assessment, an organisation must develop and provide a quality and patient safety training programme.

1)An application for accreditation of a quality and patient training programme may only be made by the organisation that owns the training programme or by a third party on behalf of the organisation that owns the training programme.

2)In such circumstances, a letter or agreement from the owner of the training programme must be provided as evidence that the third party applying or acting on their behalf has the authority to do so.

Fees

The ISQua EEA fees are based on the World Bank rankings for the country in which an organisation is located and operating out of.
Please note a once – off access fee applies for new clients. More information available here.

Annual Fees 2024/2025
Low Income Countries €3,500
Lower Middle-Income Countries €3,800
Upper Middle –Income Countries Category 1 €4,200
Upper Middle-Income Countries Category 2 €4,500
High Income Countries €4,700

To ascertain what fees apply to you – please review the World Bank listing here and the country classification list.

Discounts

For those organisations with organisational, standards and surveyor training programme accreditation, a 5% discount will apply.

Process

Apply

All organisations must complete an application form and pay the access fee prior to entry into the programme.

Survey Preparation

Organisations will receive their critical path (including survey dates), access to the self-assessment tool (SAT) and the resource documents within the online survey management tool ISQua EEA Collaborate. We strongly recommend that organisations spend a minimum of 10 months completing the SAT and the critical path will reflect this.

Technical Review

The completed self-assessment tool, the standards (if applicable) and supporting evidence are submitted by the organisation for technical review 8 weeks prior to the agreed survey start date. All documents must be in English. The aim of the technical review is to ensure that the self-assessment tool has been completed in accordance with ISQua EEA requirements and that all criteria and principles/standards are rated. A technical review report is sent to the organisation commenting on any areas which need to be addressed. No comment is made on compliance.

Final Submission of SAT

The completed self-assessment tool and the supporting evidence must be submitted to ISQua EEA 4 weeks prior to the agreed survey start date. No further changes are accepted after this date.

Survey

For the assessment of standards or surveyor training programmes, the SAT and supporting evidence will be assessed by a team of international peer review surveyors as a desktop/remote exercise. This survey takes place over a 2-week period. Similarly, the assessment of quality and patient safety training programmes are undertaken as a desk-top/remote exercise over the course of a week by one international peer review surveyor. For the assessment of organisations, the SAT and supporting evidence will be assessed by a team of three international peer review surveyors who will travel to the organisation for a 5-day on-site survey.

Factual Accuracy Review

The organisation will be given the opportunity to undertake a factual review of the draft survey report to ensure that the surveyors have not misinterpreted evidence or missed information. The feedback will be shared with the survey team who will review it and, if appropriate, amend the survey report accordingly.

Validation Review

The survey report is then sent for validation review and this is undertaken by one of our senior surveyors or a member of the ISQua EEA Accreditation Council. The purpose of the validation review is to ensure that the ratings in the survey report reflect the findings and that the report supports the survey team’s award recommendation.

Award Decision

The award recommendations from the survey team and the ISQua EEA validation reviewer are sent to the ISQua EEA External Evaluation Award Committee (EEAC). The EEAC governs the International Accreditation Programme on behalf of ISQua EEA and is responsible for making the final award decision. The Accreditation Award is valid for a period of 4 years. Accredited organisations receive an Accreditation Certificate and can use the ‘ISQua EEA Accredited’ logo. The use of these are subject to ISQua EEA’s terms & conditions.

Continuous Assessment

Continuing accreditation status is subject to the completion and submission of progress reports. Organisations with accredited standards, surveyor training programmes and organisational accreditation must submit progress reports 12- and 30- months’ post-award outlining how they are addressing the recommendations identified in their survey report. Organisations with accredited quality and patient safety training programmes must submit annual progress reports and advise ISQua EEA of any significant changes to their quality and patient safety training programme. Organisations must also provide evidence as part of this process. Failure to provide progress reports and/or requested supporting evidence will result in an organisation being in breach of their accreditation status and accreditation may be revoked.

Re-Accreditation

Organisations will be contacted 9 months prior to their accreditation expiry date to schedule the re-accreditation of their standards/surveyor training programme/organisation/quality and patient safety training programme. Re-accreditation surveys take place at least 3 months before the end of the accreditation cycle to prevent any lapses in accreditation.

Next Steps

  • Check the eligibility criteria to ensure you are eligible for entry to the International Accreditation Programme.
  • Read the Guidelines and Standards for Quality and Patient Safety Training Programmes and conduct your own gap analysis on whether you feel you will be able to meet the requirements of the Standards.
  • Review the IAP Terms and Conditions which sets out your obligations.
  • Download the Application Form, complete and send to ISQua EEA support@ieea.ch. You will be contacted by a member of the team to progress your application.