Today, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has launched a public consultation on the development of draft National Standards for Home Support Services. These are the first ever national standards for home support services in Ireland. The standards aim to drive improvements in the provision of home support services so that people have the best outcomes possible. It is important that those providing services use this consultation to prepare for upcoming legislation and regulation in the sector.

HIQA invites people using home support services, their families, carers, staff working in home support services, advocates, researchers and policy-makers, as well as the wider public, to take part in the consultation to help inform the development of these standards. The public consultation will remain open until 5pm on Friday 13 December 2024.

The draft National Standards for Home Support Services set out what outcomes a person using home support services should expect and what a service provider needs to do to achieve these outcomes. The standards are written from the perspective of the person using home support services. 

Rachel Flynn, HIQA’s Director of Health Information and Standards said: “Home support is an essential and increasingly in-demand service that allows people to receive care and support in the comfort of their own homes. Currently, the Department of Health is progressing the development of a regulatory framework and licencing system for home support providers. In preparation for this, HIQA has developed a set of draft national standards. These standards aim to promote progressive quality improvements in home support services and will help to prepare the sector for this upcoming legislation.”  

Previously, home support services in Ireland have been unregulated, with no national standards for quality improvement across the sector. Promoting readiness in the sector for the upcoming legislation and regulation has been a key part of HIQA’s approach in developing these standards. Wide stakeholder engagement alongside the current public consultation, provides the home support sector with the opportunity to become familiar with the standards and adopt them voluntarily.

Feedback can be provided by completing an online questionnaire or downloading the feedback form, available here and emailing it to standards@hiqa.ie. 

At the end of this consultation, comments will be collated and used to help inform the development of the draft National Standards for Home Support Services.

To read the draft national standards and take part in the consultation, click here.  

Ends

For further information please contact:

Marty Whelan, Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement 01 814 7480/ 085 805 5202/ mwhelan@hiqa.ie   

For further information on the consultation, please contact the consultation team at standards@hiqa.ie or call 01 814 7400 and ask for a call back from a member of the Standards Team.

Notes to the editor:

• Informing these standards is a detailed evidence review published on HIQA’s website, and extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders.
• HIQA will run focus groups with people using home support services, their families, carers, staff working in home support services, advocates and others with experience of home support services to further inform the development of these standards.
• The Department of Health is currently progressing the development of a regulatory framework and licensing system for home support providers, with the aim of ensuring that all service users are provided with high-quality care. The regulatory framework is still draft, but will comprise of primary legislation for the licensing of public and private home support providers, secondary legislation for providers of home support services, and National Standards for Home Support Services, developed by HIQA. 
• HIQA’s remit includes setting standards on safety and quality in relation to home support services, where the service is either provided by the Health Service Executive (HSE) or where the service is provided under a Section 38 or Section 39 arrangement. However, the draft National Standards for Home Support Services, have been developed in line with the scope of the draft legislation, which includes public, private for-profit and not-for-profit providers of home support services for adults over the age of 18.