The ACHS (Australian Council on Healthcare Standards) is an external assessment process that public and private health facilities in Australia use to undertake ongoing evaluations. The ACHS is an independent, not-for-profit organisation which is dedicated to improving the quality and safety of health care in Australia through continual review of performance, assessment and accreditation.

Accreditation is a status that is conferred on an organisation that has been assessed as having met particular standards. Accreditation is the key model that is used for driving and improving quality and safety in health care organisations across the world. It promotes the continuous focus on evaluating and improving a system geared towards minimising risk, improving patient health, increasing efficiencies and promoting best practice.

Through this process, the staff at Holy Spirit Northside is working towards improving outcomes for patients and achieving better quality of care and patient safety. We are committed to evaluating what we do, how we do it and what outcomes are achieved for the hospital and also for our patients. The internal structures, systems and processes that are in place ensure we provide the best standard of care and services that we can. Further, we actively participate in an external program where independent assessors evaluate our achievements and outcomes.

Holy Spirit Northside participates in the ACHS Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program (EQuIP) to be reviewed through surveys undertaken by teams of health professionals, managers and consumers who then compile the accreditation reports which are voted on by the ACHS Councillors. The EQuIP cycle challenges organisations to continuously improve through a continuous cycle of Self Assessment, Organisation-wide surveys, and Periodic Review.