Vhi to demand accreditation from hospitals
Vhi Healthcare today announced that all new and existing private hospitals seeking cover from Vhi Healthcare will have to achieve accreditation with one of the approved accreditation bodies.
Hospitals that have not yet attained the required standard will be given until December 31, 2008 to achieve it.
“Our focus has always been on the overall quality of patient care in the private hospitals and our annual patient satisfaction surveys clearly show that standard of care and quality really matters to our members,” said Vhi Healthcare medical director Dr Bernadette Carr.
“While we are not a regulatory or standard setting body, it has always been Vhi Healthcare's policy to support private hospitals seeking accreditation.
“Today, we are making it a requirement that all hospitals reach the required standards by December 2008 and this will be written into our agreements with the hospitals.”
The organisation claims that accreditation process provides the patient with assurances that the private hospital is independently inspected by an approved accreditation body on a regular basis.
All private hospitals have been notified of the change.
