Before launching a full programme of accreditation in inpatient diabetes care, it is useful to carry out a pilot to test the process and standards, and refine the approach. The pilot is a collaboration; as well as us helping services to move forwards on their improvement journey, we hope that services can help us improve the ongoing process for accreditation in diabetes inpatient care.

There will be two pilots running concurrently; one in the East of England and one in Wales.

What will the pilot involve?

Services who express an interest will be invited to work towards the standards framework. We aim to make the process as straightforward as possible and it will work as a ‘mock’ assessment, rather than it being a formal assessment. So, don’t worry if you are not meeting the standards fully. Participating in the pilot will be more of a test base of where services are currently and understanding how the process works in real settings. Services will receive support from the programme and assessment team, and have access a bespoke designed website to support them.

The service will have assessors remotely review the evidence and carry out interviews with staff and people with diabetes to triangulate the data that the service uploads, evidencing that they meet the standards. The advice from assessors will spark discussion and debate about improvement areas and allow for shared learning between different services. Services will have regular support from the programme office team and will be guided through the process.

The pilot will also be fully remote, so those involved in the pilot will be asked to feedback on this aspect, as well as the whole process to inform the future model.

When does the pilot start?

Services will express an interest in March and will undertake a self-assesment in April. Through April and May, services will work to gather evidence to demosntrate they meet the standards. Between June and September, they will have a remote assessment (half day) and receive a report with recommendations, shared with the organistion’s chief executive.

Do services need to be ready for accreditation at the time of starting the pilot?

No. Accreditation is an improvement journey and we do not expect services to be ready when they join. Participating pilot services will have support from the programme and clinical team and will be in a great position to become accredited at a later date, typically earlier than non-participating services. They’ll receive targeted advice and support from our assessors and programme team. In addition, they will be supporting the future standards and process for the full DCAP programme; so participating is as much about helping us as it is helping you.

Will services be granted accreditation at the end of the pilot?

No. The pilot is about testing the standards and process in ‘real life’ settings and being aware of nuances that we may not have factored in during the design phase. However, we typically find that services who participate in the pilot are in a great position to be awarded accreditation as part of the full programme because they will already be familiar with the style and process i.e., they get a head start.