Accreditation standards can provide a clear framework for quality care. But having standards on paper is only the beginning. The greater challenge is helping organisations translate them into systems, behaviours and everyday practices that make a meaningful difference to patients and families.
In South Africa, the Association of Palliative Care Centres (APCC) is testing a practical approach to doing just that.
Ten palliative care organisations in KwaZulu-Natal are participating in the APCC’s new Accreditation Support Programme, which combines interactive workshops with tailored, on-site mentorship. The aim is to help organisations deepen their understanding of the Standards for Palliative Healthcare Services, strengthen their quality management systems and make measurable progress through the accreditation process.
The programme is based on a simple principle: accreditation should be more than an exercise in demonstrating compliance. Its real value lies in using standards as a tool for continuous improvement, strengthening the systems and practices that underpin safe, consistent and high-quality care.
From understanding Standards to applying them
The first phase of the programme brought participating organisations together for two practical workshops during July.
The first was held at Estcourt Hospice Association on 2 July, bringing together Estcourt Hospice, Ladysmith Hospice, Midlands Hospice and Msunduzi Hospice. A second workshop, held at Verulam Hospice on 22 July, included Butterfly Palliative Home, Zululand Hospice, Blessed Gerard’s Care Centre, Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust, Highway Hospice and South Coast Hospice.
Rather than approaching accreditation as a checklist, participants worked through the Standards while developing practical quality improvement skills that they could take back into their own organisations.
This shared learning is only one part of the programme. Between August and the end of October, members of the APCC Accreditation Committee will work directly with each participating organisation through tailored, on-site mentorship. Together, they will identify areas for improvement, strengthen policies and procedures, and support teams in developing the evidence required for accreditation.
The intention is not for mentors simply to tell organisations what needs to change. It is to help teams understand why particular systems matter, identify what will work within their own context and build the capability to maintain those improvements over time.
Representatives from the HAKZN sites
Making quality part of everyday practice
Preparing for accreditation involves policies, procedures and evidence, but the work cannot stop there. The real test is what happens afterwards: whether the systems put in place are understood by staff and continue to shape the way care is delivered.
The mentorship visits give organisations an opportunity to work through this in their own setting. Mentors can see where teams are making progress, where they are getting stuck and where practical changes may be needed. It also gives staff the chance to ask questions and work through challenges as they arise.
Once the visits have been completed, each organisation will update its self-assessment for submission by the end of November. Peer review will follow in December and January, with the results expected at the end of January 2027.
Taking the learning further
The KwaZulu-Natal programme is currently a pilot. Once it has been completed and evaluated, the APCC plans to make the workshop available virtually to member organisations across South Africa.
That next step will provide an opportunity to take what has been learned from the ten participating organisations and apply it more widely. The value of the programme, however, will ultimately be measured by more than the number of organisations that progress through accreditation.
If mentorship helps teams develop stronger systems, greater confidence in quality improvement and practices that become embedded in their organisations, the impact reaches much further. It reaches the patients and families who depend on palliative care being safe, consistent and responsive to their needs. And that is where accreditation has its greatest value: not in achieving a standard for its own sake, but in using that standard to make care better.
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