Riverside - Riverside ECHG celebrates national accreditation for older people’s services

16 April 2010

Riverside ECHG is delighted to have received notification (w/c 12 April) from the Centre for Housing and Support (CHS) that they have achieved the valued CHS Code of Practice Accreditation. Riverside is the largest organisation to achieve accreditation against the latest version of the Code and this accreditation is extremely valuable as an external quality mark when tendering for new business. It also provides the organisation with a passport through the local authority Quality Assessment Framework evaluations they must regularly undertake – fast-tracking them to level B for their sheltered schemes.

Judith Crowther, Riverside ECHG’s Director of Older People’s Services, said: “The accreditation process has been an extensive assessment process which has involved the compilation of a main portfolio of evidence containing over 300 pieces of evidence, 30 telephone surveys with scheme managers, 12 validation visits to sheltered schemes and over 120 mini-portfolios compiled by each scheme manager.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the group who have worked on this submission for over 12 months led by Quality Officer Ken Johnson and they are: Russell Wilkinson, Jeanette Kelsey, Linda Potter, June Bottell, Kathy Duboulay and tenant Pat Lawson from Ivy Court.

“I would also like to thank all our scheme managers for their hard work and support in this very important piece of work, particularly in the compilation and the quality of their portfolios.”

The Code of Practice is still the only sheltered housing-specific “kitemark” for quality and provision of service. The ten standards within the Code identify good practice in the provision and delivery of housing related support and service, providing a quality benchmark against which providers can measure their services.

Following the final assessment with the working group, Riverside ECHG have received very positive feedback from the assessor regarding the quality of the submission and the quality of the service they provide.