Te Whare Mahana gets the big tick with Te Wana accreditation
As far as health providers go, this is a big deal upgrade to get.
At its last full staff meeting on 4 May, mental health provider Te Whare Mahana was formally presented with its hard-earned certificate of accreditation by Te Wana, the Quality Improvement Council run by Health Care Aotearoa.
First the centre conducted an exhaustive 18-month internal review that looked at self-identifying every aspect of services and standards within the organisation, then last September it opened its doors to four Te Wana reviewers for three days.
“They went through the place with a fine tooth comb,” said manager Jo Johnson. “It involved every member of our 30 full-time and part-time staff and also our consumer advisor. We got the big tick and accreditation no problem. Out of this we can now develop our quality work plans – it’s a huge and continuous task, but we have to be up to it if we are to keep securing funding.”
The accreditation cost $5,000 to get and will cost the same every year in upkeep. This cost includes the ongoing quality assurance charges to make sure the centre stays up to scratch. Te Whare’s first year of accreditation was paid for by the District Health Board, but from here on they will have to find the money themselves.
There are various health provider accreditation agencies in this country, but Te Whare’s management chose to apply to Te Wana because it mainly deals with similar community non-government organisations like Te Whare.
Jo said the big benefit for the centre was that it had involved everyone there in quality improvement, and that served to raise the standard of the care they provide.
“It may seem like a lot of effort and expense but ultimately it will give us a better professional standing, which means we will actually need to be audited less than what we’re getting now. At the moment we are subject to multiple audits from all sorts of government agencies. This accreditation means it will all be streamlined and let us get on with what we are meant to do, which is care for our residents.”
Gerard Hindmarsh
