Standards and quality measures for services for people with intellectual disabilities.
OBJECTIVE
In our modern, performance managed National Health Service, quality has become a key target. Quality assurance has become a statutory duty and the National Health Service is inundated with policy documents and performance measures in most areas of mainstream healthcare. Performance against such measures will be monitored by powerful independent regulatory bodies. It is therefore timely to look at what specific quality measures there are for services for people with intellectual disability.


RESULTS
Tension exists as to the need for developing specific targets for the population with intellectual disabilities when the philosophy of care is for real social inclusion where 'all means all'. To what extent will existing quality standards for mental health services suffice when we know that often people with intellectual disabilities have real issues accessing these services? This paper highlights published quality measures and standards from primary care through mainstream secondary care and specialist mental health services. It also discusses the policy context and current development of regulatory standards as these continue to evolve.


CONCLUSIONS
Evidence for meeting quality standards will increasingly dominate the delivery and funding of healthcare in the National Health Service.
O'Hara
Jean
J
Estia Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, and the Maudsley NHS Trust, London, UK. Jean.O'Hara@slam.nhs.uk
D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D019989:Persons with Intellectual Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D013222:State Medicine / Q000592:standards; D006113:United Kingdom