Healthcare Inspectorate Wales
Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW)
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, or email
to hiw@wales.gsi.gov.uk 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
Health Inspectorate Wales
Newsletter
May 2012
This edition brings information on HIW
forthcoming second Mental Health Act Annual Report, which sets out
the key findings of the work undertaken in 2010 - 2011 by the
reviewers and Second Opinion Appointed Doctors.
Also included is news on the first
Dignity and Essential Care reports.
Download the
English version or
Welsh version
These reports focus on key
aspects of essential care, safety, dignity and respect for older
people..
The May 2012 newseltter is now
available to download/view in either English or
Welsh.
Health Inspectorate Wales
Three year
programme
2012 - 2015
Healthcare Inspecorate Wales (HIW)
refreshes its Three Year Plan annually with major revision every
third year. Documents for view download:
- HIW Three year Programme 2012 -
2015
- Letter to LHB's and UHB's - English
version
- Letter to LHB's and UHB's - Welsh
version