Introduction
The National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards were developed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission) in collaboration with the Australian Government, states and territories, the private sector, clinical experts, and people who use health services and their families and carers.
The primary aims of the NSQHS Standards are to protect the public from harm and to improve the quality of health service provision. They provide a quality assurance mechanism that assesses whether relevant systems are in place to ensure that expected standards of safety and quality are met. Importantly, the NSQHS Standards have provided a nationally consistent statement about the standard of care that people can expect from health service organisations. Implementation is mandated in all hospitals, day procedure services and public dental services across Australia.
The Commission developed the NSQHS Standards User guide for the health care of people with intellectual disability (the User Guide) in response to significant evidence of poor health outcomes for people with intellectual disability in Australia’s health system.[1],[2],[3]
The User Guide is consistent with the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (DRC) Final Report. The Commission has contributed to the Australian Government’s response to the DRC final report and will continue efforts to improve the health care of people with cognitive disability.
The User Guide complements other Commission resources for people with cognitive disability or impairment, including the:
- Psychotropic Medicines in Cognitive Disability or Impairment Clinical Care Standard
- Four Steps to Inclusive Health Care: With Me and About Me
- NSQHS Standards User guide for health service organisations providing care for patients with cognitive impairment or at risk of delirium
- Delirium Clinical Care Standard.
Although the User Guide focuses on intellectual disability, the recommended strategies for improvement are relevant to people with any form of cognitive disability receiving health care.