Surveyor Training in China, moving from a National to an Internationally accredited programme

A. Lee, X.P. Xu, L. Yam, H. Chen, T. Fortune, J.S. Wang, Y.S. Chan, J. Lui, C. Liu

The Shenzhen Hospital Accreditation Research Center, China

Introduction

China has had a National healthcare accreditation programme since 1989.  The China National 3A Hospital accreditation system (CN3A) has been a major influence on patient safety and quality improvement, therefore providing a good foundation to build an internationally recognized programme. With this goal in mind the Chinese government established, The Shenzhen Hospital Accreditation Research Center (SHARC) in 2020. The strategy from the outset was to achieve all 3 ISQuaEEA awards but more importantly to use these standards as the benchmark in international best practice.

China‘s International Hospital Accreditation Standards (CIHA) were accredited in February 2022. Then followed the first phase of surveyor training where 61   surveyors were trained.  These “Founding” surveyors had extensive experience of either CN3A (45) or  the Australian Council Healthcare Standards ACHS 17).

Methods

The Surveyor Training and Development Team (STDT) are responsible for developing all aspects of the SHARC’s surveyor training programme (STP’s). The STDT together with international experts conducted a comprehensive literature search, resulting in a dearth of peer review evidence. A review of the relevant abstracts from previous ISQua conferences yielded valuable experiential learnings.  The STP was then developed based on proven international experience, national expertise and principles of adult education.

The STP has 3 stages that all trainees need to attend. These include interpretation of the CHIA standards, legal requirements, assessment methodologies, risk assessment, collecting evidence and report writing skills. Only Founding surveyors are excluded from onsite practical training.

Results

There were challenges to implementing the STP’s. Covid caused disruption and the ISQuaEEA survey date had to be postponed. The second challenge was the revision of the ISQuaEEA Standards for STP from 3rd  to 4th  edition. This demanded revision but yielded good advice for SHARC to improve evaluation methods especially regarding trainers.

Some recommendations which have been implemented, included face to face rather than online sessions, ethical and legal requirements, and more knowledge of international accreditation methods.

Conclusion

Using the ISQuaEEA standards as a framework has worked well for China. The greatest success has been achieved by utilizing the expertise of the CN3A. These Founding Surveyors have provided exemplary expertise to every section of SHARC including developing STP’s, team leader, standard development and governance. Phase 3 of SHARC’s international strategy is now well underway and will include training 60 or more new surveyors, continued update training and an ISQuaEEA organizational award in 2024.