Napier House ‐ A Quality Assured Home Available to Purchase

Describes the development of a quality assurance system in a residential home for the elderly mentally infirm, and its registration under ISO 9000/BS 5750. The two prime objectives of the project were to demonstrate the applicability of the ISO 9000 model to human care services, and to integrate the systematic approach of quality assurance with the human‐centred concepts of a total quality culture. The quality assurance system was developed primarily by the home′s own staff, beginning with their definition of residents′ requirements of the service. Discusses the methods of defining outcome measures, of designing the system, of developing it and of implementing it, together with the difficulties encountered, and the impact of the project on team spirit and on the quality of the service.