The student health service has gained CORNERSTONE® accreditation, a programme designed by the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) for health care providers in New Zealand. It is a level above the mandatory Foundation standard that practices are required to achieve.
Student Health’s Practice Manager Nicky McGeorge says it is a fantastic achievement.
“To gain Cornerstone accreditation, practices have to go through a rigorous process of both self-assessment and an external peer review,” she says. “It has been a great way to benchmark our level of performance in relation to established standards, and to find ways to continuously improve our service.”
She says CORNERSTONE assessment measures include patient experience and equity, practice environment and safety, clinical effectiveness processes and professional development for staff.
“That includes everything from having leaflets in different languages available in the waiting room or making sure there are facilities that people with disabilities are able to use, to ensuring staff are using best practice when it comes to things like prescribing medication, or even that all staff are having regular job appraisals.”
She says the accreditation is valid for four years, with practices required to work towards achieving a series of indicators each year. “Students coming to the practice can expect a quality standard of care and this enables them to better focus on their studies and supports them to succeed.”
“They’re going to know they’ll get better than just the basics—that should make students feel reassured, and it also makes the team feel good to be working at the highest standard and delivering that to our patients.”