Standards are designed to create a quality framework within which any service providing mental and emotional wellbeing support and suicide prevention across Northern Ireland should operate. They focus on setting minimum standards and improving governance arrangements within organisations to provide safe and effective practice for service users.

The Public Health Agency, with support from the Clear Project, have been working with the employees and volunteers within mental health services since 2010 to develop and tailor these standards and ensure that they comply with legislative and best practice requirements and deliver a safe and effective service.

These standards are regularly reviewed to ensure compliance with changing legislation or best practice. Details of the most recent changes are available in the Resources section.

Previous organisations that have completed the standards have said:

All organisations – public, private or charitable – who are supporting people with their mental and emotional wellbeing or engaged in suicide prevention should complete the core standards. These will set minimum standards of service, practice and improve outcomes for service users.

We would encourage teams within these organisations to complete the quality standards framework together. We would also encourage you to share your compliance plan with your Management Committee or Board of Directors.

The quality standards provide a legislative and best practice framework in which all organisations operate. As part of the process of completing the standards, you will tailor that framework to the needs and demands of your service and build in your experience and unique ways of working.

The process is ‘self-assessed’ so you will complete your own evaluation of how the standards apply to your organisation and particular areas of expertise. The self-assessment is stored within this online portal and you should also retain hard copies of the material within your offices.

As best practice, we recommend that you revisit and review your self-assessment of the quality standards on an annual basis to account for legislative, best practice or individual changes within your organisation.

All organisations are required to complete the self-assessment on the 'Core Standards'. They cover:

• Management & organisational governance
• Employment & volunteering structures
• Organisational practice & service delivery
• Monitoring & evaluation
• Communication processes

Depending on the nature of the projects you are working on, it may also be useful to complete some or all of the ‘Additional Standards’. These provide specific frameworks on:

• Training
• Self-harm services
• Counselling
• Complementary therapies
• Bereavement support services
• Bereavement support groups

Self-assessment means that you will complete your own evaluation of how the standards apply to your organisation and particular areas of expertise.

• It requires you to read and apply the standards to your unique organisational goals. As you work through each step, online guidance will be provided.
• The completed assessment forms are for the use of your organisation. Although they remain on this portal for reference, you do not need to submit your self-assessment forms unless you are chosen for an independent assessment.

Each year, a number of organisations are chosen at random for independent assessment.

• Should your organisation be selected for an independent assessment, the assessor will contact you directly.
• Independent assessments are in place to ensure the high quality of services provided.
• Organisations chosen for independent assessment will have the ability to upload their supporting documentation to the portal.
• The independent assessment involves an assessor accessing the information that you have submitted to the portal and requesting further evidence of how this information was gathered. This information and evidence will then be reviewed against the self-assessment requirements.

Our team is available to provide support on completion of the self-assessment process and to answer your technical questions related to this portal. You can also submit questions through the Contact Us section of the portal.