EPSO contact person: Mandy Collins
1. COUNTRY/REGION: Wales
Website of the supervisory organisation:
www.hiw.org.uk
Is this website in English or partly in English?
Yes – Both English and Welsh
Contact person(s)
o Name and function
Peter Higson
Chief Executive
Address
Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, Bevan House, Caerphilly Business Park, Van Road, Caerphilly CF83 3ED
Email
peter.higson@wales.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone number
+44 2092 8852
o Name and function
Mandy Collins
Deputy Chief Executive and Director, Regulation and Inspection
Address
Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, Bevan House, Caerphilly Business Park, Van Road, Caerphilly CF83 3ED
Email
mandy.collins@wales.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone number
+44 2092 8875
+44 7875 336759
o Name and function
Alyson Thomas
Director, Service Review and Organisational Development
Address
Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, Bevan House, Caerphilly Business Park, Van Road, Caerphilly CF83 3ED
Email
alyson.thomas@wales.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone number
+44 2092 8975
+44 7980 920180
2. THE STRUCTURE OF THE SUPERVISORY ORGANISATION(s)
The Head of the Supervisory Organisation (name and function)
Peter Higson Chief Executive
Size of the Supervisory Organisation:
Number of inspections/supervisions or number of inspectors or number of full time equivalents of people working in the organisation; number of hospitals or health institutions under supervision
30 inspection and regulation staff work in HIW
We supervise 7 local health boards and 3 health trusts
Primary care in Wales consists of 2,000 family doctors, 1,350 dentists and 700 opticians
Secondary care consists of 19 hospitals (17 of these are major/acute hospitals and 2 are mental health hospitals)
There are 98 private and voluntary health care settings
Number of people working in the organisation
55
Other relevant information about the Supervisory Organisation in your country or region
Relation with the Department of Health
HIW is independent of the Welsh Government’s Health, Social Services and Children’s Department. HIW is primarily funded by the Welsh Government although it has some income from registration fees and renewals.
Web address
www.hiw.org.uk
3. THE SCOPE OF THE SUPERVISORY ORGANISATION(s)
Is there supervision on health care in general?
Yes
Is there supervision on hospitals?
Yes
Is there supervision on other health care institutions like nursing homes/convalescent homes?
Yes (but supervising social care is the responsibility of the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales)
Is there supervision on the production and the use of medicines?
HIW maintains a register of accountable officers who are responsible for the safe management and use of controlled drugs in healthcare bodies in Wales.
Is there a supervisory relation with health care professionals?
If yes, what kind of relation?
HIW is the Local Supervising Authority for midwives and midwifery services in Wales.
Other relevant information about the scope of the supervisory organisation.
4. METHODS OF INSPECTION OR SUPERVISION
What methods of inspection or supervision are used in your country/region?
We conduct announced and unannounced inspections of National Health Service (NHS) and independent healthcare organisations in Wales against a range of standards, policies, guidance and regulations. We also use self-assessment tools designed to enable health service organisations to assess and assure themselves, as well as others, of how well they are performing against the standards in key services.
Our inspection teams include our own staff, health care specialists and lay people. We have a pool of over 200 external reviewers – health and social care professionals and members of the public - who are trained to help us carry out our reviews, and who bring a wealth of up to date and specific skills, knowledge and experience to our work. rtake investigations where there may be systemic failures in delivering healthcare and we take immediate action if we determine that the safety and quality of healthcare does not meet required standards.
We regulate the Independent Healthcare Sector in Wales through registration, inspection and, where necessary, enforcement action (including suspension, cancellation or prosecution) to ensure compliance against legal regulations and requirements.
We use a risk-based approach to determine the level and focus of inspection activity required for each healthcare setting.
We combine our efforts with those of other inspection bodies in Wales to obtain maximum coverage with minimum disruption. For example, we ensure that dentists in both private and national health practice are inspected only once by a single organisation.
Other information about the methods of inspection in your country /region
5. WHAT IS THE COMPETENCE OF THE SUPERVISORY ORGANISATION IN YOUR COUNTRY?
Is the supervisory organisation entitled to use compulsory measures (sanction/repression/enforcement)?
Yes. The Care Standards Act and a range of subsidiary legislation requires us to register independent healthcare providers (those which are not part of the national health service). Providers cannot legally provide healthcare unless they are registered. We can impose conditions on registration, suspend or withdraw registration.
Is the supervisory organisation entitled to take precautions and implement measures to prevent accidents or incidents?
We are able conduct inspections and, for serious outcomes, recommend special measures to return standards of health care to acceptable levels
Does the supervisory organisation have the authority to close institutions or stop non proper healthcare?
Yes.
We can change, suspend or cancel registration for independent healthcare providers, including most recently private dentists. The Care Standards Act makes providing healthcare outside the conditions of registration or while not registered an offence.
We can place National Health Service organisations on “special measures” designed to return them to satisfactory performance.
We are able to impose interim suspension from the Nursing and Midwifery Council register for midwives and work closely with the regulator in doing so.
Is the supervisory organisation allowed to interfere in other ways?
Our mental health review team check that the Mental Health Act 1983 is being properly applied and is responsible for providing second opinion doctors when patients are unable to give informed consent to treatment.
If yes, in what way?
The Local Supervising Authority can impose a period of Supervised Practice on a midwife who has shown evidence of lacking competence in one or more areas of her practice.
Other relevant information about the competence of the supervisory organisation
6. INTERESTING ONGOING DEVELOPMENTS IN YOUR COUNTRY/REGION
We participate in concordat arrangements which enable cooperation between bodies in Wales with powers to inspect. We use these arrangements to either schedule similar inspections for the same time, or to reschedule dissimilar inspections. Our objective is to avoid overburdening the organisations we inspect.
We are part of the UK’s National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), which ensures we monitor places of detention in line with the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). The UK NPM is a group of bodies which regularly examine the treatment of people deprived of their liberty, make recommendations and comment on existing or draft legislation, all with the aim of improving the treatment and conditions of detainees. HIW is responsible for monitoring the use of the Mental Health Act in Wales, through our regular inspection of mental health services for patients detained under the Act.
