Paediatrics and young people's services

Paediatrics and young people's services

Paediatric And Young Adult Services

This standard applies to all services and departments where children and young adults are cared for, which may include out-patients, for day care support or in-patient services. All services provided to and for children and young adults, be that general medical, surgical or specialist (tertiary) services, in-patient, day, outpatient or primary care, meet the needs of each child or young person and their parents/guardians by providing safe, effective diagnosis, treatment, and care from appropriately trained and experienced staff in an age-appropriate environment. The standard may be completed once to reflect on the services across the organisation, for example in small private hospitals or urgent care settings. In larger services, where there is specialist / tertiary care provided it may be more appropriate to apply to specific areas, for example, once for out-patient services, and again for the clinical in-patient area. This will be agreed with the CHKS Quality Lead Auditor. All areas where children and adolescents are cared for and/or treated have safe systems in place to assure that while accessing any services every child or young adult, is safe from harm. Additional criteria in standards such as Surgery, Chemotherapy and End of Life Care may also apply. Please refer to local legislation regarding the specific age category which defines a ‘child.’ (In the UK this is anyone up to their 18th birthday , and ‘adolescent’ is from 13-17 and a ‘young adult’ is from 18-24 years inclusive)

• Governance and service delivery
• Treatment and care
• Specialist (tertiary) care provision
• Transition of care
• End of life care and support service
• Quality improvement

The CHKS Standards criteria address these elements through succinct criteria statements that are supported by guidance which helps the organisation understand the intent of the criteria, so that it can be applied in the local context. Additionally, references are provided to direct further reading on the relevant topic. Throughout the standards the criteria are linked to key assessment frameworks including ISO 9001, the Care Quality Commission, Quality Statements and the Health Information and Quality Authority, (Ireland) National Standards.