Hospital credentialling – the debate opens

PATIENT safety concerns were to the fore during discussions about new hospital credentialling schemes that are being introduced in the United Kingdom.

The Department for Health should be interested to both follow and explore credentialing, as it went to open debate last week, hosted by Leeds General Infirmary.

The meeting on July 2 was attended by stakeholders, including the private sector, NHS, vendors and professional bodies.

Presentations were given, reinforcing the legality of the requirement for both hospitals and medtech companies alike to ensure patient safety.

Key stakeholders from Leeds General Infirmary discussed the rationale behind their decision to introduce credentialling, which has patient safety at its core and which is controlled through a central registration system.

A representative of  LGI said: “The requirement for compliance has always been in place to protect the patient – now at LGI we have a way to ensure governance.”

Validating every person who spends any amount of time in a care establishment has become pivotal to providing safe, harm-free care.

And because procurement departments are now partly responsible for the implementation of credentialling schemes, their procedures and requirements have to be respected as well.

In the modern hospital landscape, procurement are no longer the supplies department, the open-all-hours Arkwrights and Granvilles in brown coats, procurement  are in an interesting position, as they now need to work very closely with clinical teams to underpin value propositions, innovation and support for patient safety.

The subject of credentialing is becoming increasingly important to all organisations within the NHS and to external organisations providing support and expertise. Health Secretary  Jeremy Hunt recently spoke of  “a moral motive for zero-harm healthcare”.

An indicator within the NHS Outcomes Framework measures “Treating and caring for people in a safe environment; and protecting them from avoidable harm’.

Validating every person who spends any amount of time in a care establishment has become pivotal to providing safe, harm-free care.