Latest accreditations awarded to healthcare facilities by COHSASA

Arwyp Medical Centre in Kempton Park (left) and Lady Pohamba Private Hospital in Namibia

A COHSASA accreditation award means the healthcare organisations have entered a rigorous quality improvement programme and have been assessed against, and comply with, standards recognised by the International Society for Quality in Health Care External Evaluation Association (IEEA), the global body overseeing accreditation and quality improvement programmes in healthcare organisations in 70 countries around the world. COHSASA itself is accredited by the IEEA as are its standards. COHSASA is the only accrediting body for healthcare facilities in sub-Saharan Africa recognised by the IEEA.

Healthcare facilities that initially enter the programme and meet standards are awarded two-year accreditations and as the journey in improving quality continues, awards of longer duration are given. A four-year accreditation award from the Council should signal to patients that a facility has sustained an excellent level of standards over a commendable period. All facilities that receive an Accreditation Award must undergo an interim survey halfway through the period to ensure that standards are being maintained.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, COHSASA has had to change its implementation model to include hybrid evaluation surveys. This means that only one surveyor is onsite while two surveyors connect remotely from Cape Town. The hospitals listed below were the first to undergo successful hybrid evaluation surveys.

It is thus possible to safely assume that the standards of quality and patient safety in both the Lady Pohamba Hospital in Windhoek, South West Africa and the Arwyp Medical Centre in Kempton Park, Gauteng, are well on their way to achieving commendable, long-term and institutionalised levels. Both achieved a Full Accreditation Award for three years, valid until May 2024.