In sub-Saharan Africa, many health care clinics do not have the resources to apply for or achieve accreditation resources such as a consistent supply of medication or the infrastructure to keep patient records safe and secure. SafeCare provides these clinics an option to improve care for their patients with quality improvement standards they can comply with even under restricted conditions.

SafeCare standards cover a full range of clinical services and management functions, as well as infrastructural aspects and ancillary services–for example, kitchen, cleaning and laundry services. This enables a holistic view of all the components required for safe and efficient provision of health care services. According to Jacqui Stewart, CEO of Council for Health Service Accreditation of Southern Africa, SafeCare standards enable clinics in resource poor settings to begin their quality journey with small steps and aspire to ultimately achieving accreditation.

The third edition of SafeCare standards has been re-accredited by the  International Society for Quality in Health Care External Evaluation Association (IEEA). IEEA is a global organization responsible for assessing the standards of organizations that set the benchmarks in health care safety and quality.

The re-accreditation by IEEA recognizes the quality of the updated standards, which IEEA first approved in 2013. The standards have been revised since then to incorporate knowledge learned from the health care providers implementing them in the field – as well as clarify the scoring methodology.

SafeCare’s standards are the only IEEA-accredited clinical standards tailor-made for resource-restricted settings. The SafeCare standards and certification methodology combines the respective knowledge, expertise, skills, tools and experience of all three member organisations – to issue a graded “Certificate of Improvement” to different categories of health care facilities ranging from nurse-driven health clinics to district hospitals.

“Maintaining IEAA accreditation for the standards is integral to the quality of the SafeCare brand,”

Nicole Spieker, Director of Quality at PharmAccess states that accreditation of SafeCare’s standards provides validation for patients, health care providers, governments, and donors in the level of care provided at SafeCare certified organizations. These standards have resulted in better quality care for millions of patients across the African continent.