Healthcare Inspectorate Wales is the
independent inspectorate and regulator of all healthcare in Wales.
HIW’s primary focus is on:
- Making a significant contribution to improving the safety and
quality of healthcare services in Wales.
- Improving citizens’ experience of healthcare in Wales whether
as a patient, service user, carer, relative or employee.
- Strengthening the voice of patients and the public in the way
health services are reviewed.
- Ensuring that timely, useful, accessible and relevant
information about the safety and quality of healthcare in Wales is
made available to all.
HIW’s core role is to review and
inspect NHS and independent healthcare organisations in Wales to
provide independent assurance for patients, the public, the Welsh
Assembly Government and healthcare providers, that services are
safe and good quality. Services are reviewed against a range of
published standards, policies, guidance and regulations. As part of
this work HIW will seek to identify and support improvements in
services and the actions required to achieve this. If necessary,
HIW will undertake special reviews and investigations where there
appears to be systematic failures in delivering healthcare
services, to ensure that rapid improvement and learning takes
place. In addition, HIW is the regulator of independent healthcare
providers in Wales and is the Local Supervising Authority for the
statutory supervision of midwives.
HIW carries out its functions on
behalf of Welsh Ministers and, although part of the Welsh Assembly
Government, protocols have been established to safeguard its
operational autonomy. HIW’s main functions and responsibilities are
drawn from the following legislation:
- Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act
2003
- Care Standards Act 2000 and associated regulations
- Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Health Act 2007
- Statutory Supervision of Midwives as set out in Articles 42 and
43 of the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001
- Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2000 and
Amendment Regulations 2006
HIW works closely with other
inspectorates and regulators in carrying out cross sector reviews
in social care, education and criminal justice and in developing
more proportionate and co-ordinated approaches to the review and
regulation of healthcare in Wales.
HIW and RCPsych in Wales are working
closely together and following intial meetings have identified
areas of collaborative work, including:
- Training events for staff and
reviewers
- Enhancing the improvements gained
following serious incident reviews
- Implementation of Statutory Mental
Health Law
Raising Clinical/Service
Concerns
There is a process enabling
clinicians to raise concerns directly with HIW through a
variety of channels - telephone, letter, email to HIW: hiw@wales.gsi.gov.uk and email to
Dr Peter Higson: peter.higson@hiw.wales.gsi.gov.uk
or Mandy Collins: mandy.collins@wales.gsi.gov.uk
HIW Reports
Monitoring the Use of the Mental Health Act 2009 - 2010
(information uploaded July 2011 - further details from
sconway@welshdiv.rcpsych.ac.uk)
Individual review reports are available at the
HIW
website