The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is updating the National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare which were first approved by the Minister for Health in 2012. The national standards set out best evidence-based practice and apply to all primary, community and acute healthcare services (excluding mental health) provided or funded by the HSE, and private hospitals. 

HIQA is conducting an evidence review to inform this update and has published a scoping review protocol which outlines its approach to conducting a scoping review on person-centred care in healthcare services. Person-centred care underpins all national standards developed by HIQA and is central to achieving safe, quality healthcare. The findings from this scoping review will inform the update of the National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare. 

Since the standards were first published in 2012, there have been substantial changes to the healthcare landscape in Ireland, including major legislative reforms relating to patient safety, open disclosure, assisted decision-making and forthcoming hospital licensing reforms. In parallel, health system reform under the Government’s Sláintecare strategy has driven a shift away from hospital-centred care towards integrated, community-based models of care. Other key areas of change have been brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, digital transformation and technology-enabled care. These developments have been underpinned by significant legislative advances both at national and European Union level.  

Commenting on the update to the National Standards, Rachel Flynn, Director of Health Information and Standards, said:

“The National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare set out what a person should expect from their healthcare services and describe what high-quality, safe healthcare looks like. They create a basis for services to improve the safety and quality of the care they deliver and they support HIQA’s regulatory role in monitoring and measuring the safety and quality of a service’s performance.

“Since the standards were first published, there have been significant developments in healthcare as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the expansion of digital health technologies and wider health system and legislative reform. This update to the National Standards will incorporate these changes and focus on what outcomes are important for people using healthcare services, to ensure the standards remain fit for purpose and person-centred.” 

Following this review, HIQA will update the standards and will hold a public consultation to gather people’s feedback on the updated National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare.

Notes:

• Under the Health Act 2007, HIQA sets national standards for health and social care services to describe what high quality, safe, person-centred care looks like. These standards are approved by the Minister for Health. 
• The National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare were first published in 2012. Since 2025, the standards have applied to private hospitals, following the expansion of HIQA’s remit into private hospitals under the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Act 2023.
• HIQA has published the following document: The definitions and characteristics of safe, quality, person-centred care in healthcare settings: A scoping review protocol (opens new webpage).
• Recent legislative developments which will inform the update to the standards include the European Union Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act 2024, the NIS2 Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/2555) on cyber security, the Critical Entities Resilience (CER) Directive (EU 2022/2557), and the creation of a European Health Data Space (EHDS).
• This update is being undertaken through a structured standards development process, which incorporates evidence synthesis, policy analysis and stakeholder engagement. A scoping review on person-centred care is the first step in this process.  

About HIQA

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is the independent body that promotes safety and quality in the provision of health and social care services in Ireland. 

Through its regulation, standard setting and evidence to inform decision-making functions, HIQA supports health and social care services to consistently deliver excellent standards of care and the best possible health and social care outcomes for all.