The Royal College of Psychiatrists has been chosen by the
Department of Health from over 120 applications to participate in
the testing phase of a new scheme to ensure good quality
information across the health and social care sector.
The information accreditation scheme will combat substantial
variation in the quality of health and social care information
available and will provide a way for the public and professionals
to know that the information they are using is reliable.
It will also support information producers in
raising general standards and will be focused at the organisation
level – accrediting the source of information rather than the
information itself.
The College is testing the scheme alongside
others from the commercial, public and voluntary sectors. Subject
to achieving certification through this testing phase, will become
one of the first scheme members when it launches in 2009.
Ann Keen MP, the parliamentary under-secretary
for health services, said: “There is so much information out there
that it’s hard for people – both the public and professionals – to
know what can be relied upon. A scheme with a recognisable
quality mark, will assure them that information is from a
dependable source.
“Over 120 applications were received by DH and
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is one of just 40 organisations
to have successfully made it through the application process. The
work of these test sites will be invaluable in providing knowledge
and insight for organisations who are considering joining the
scheme in the future.”
As part of the testing phase we will be
involved in:
- testing the scheme Standard
- sharing our experiences in order to support the development of
case studies
- helping to develop the visual identity of the quality
mark.
For further information, please contact Liz Fox or Deborah
Hart in the Communications Department.
Telephone: 020 7235 2351 Extensions. 6298 or 6127
Note to editors:
For further DH information on the information accreditation scheme, contact Clare Wener, Department of Health, 020 7972 3726 or e-mail accreditation@dh.gsi.gov.uk
The information accreditation scheme will ‘kite mark’ organisations that produce health and social care information. The scheme will be focused at the organisation level – accrediting the source of information rather than the information itself – through certification against a national Standard. The public would be reassured through a recognisable quality mark. This enables the scheme to have a broad impact as it can be used to mark information in any format – from websites to pamphlets. For further details on the scheme please visit: www.dh.gov.uk/accreditation