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Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:06:00 +0200

I am glad to say that all of our Trustees are now in place save the final IMHA nominee, who is to be selected by the new Board after their election at the next IMHA General Meeting in Brest, in June 2013.

Background of IMHA QUALITY

In March 2006 an IMHA workshop was held in Mumbai, to discuss the application of quality assurance schemes in maritime health care (the report is available on the IMHA website, www.imha.net). Although the Maritime Labour Convention was also dated 2006, it is only in August of this year that MLC 2006 comes into force, and quality assurance will therefore be on the top of many agendas, including those of maritime administrations, shipping companies, manning agents and clinics dealing with maritime health.

In the period since that first workshop, IMHA members have been busy in addressing the subject. In January 2008, after much work in drafting and developing supporting documentation, a bid was sent to the TK Foundation for funding to set up an accreditation programme for maritime clinics. The bid was successful, and funding was finally received in March 2010 which was used to develop the first set of standards entirely relevant to seafarer medical examination, including the quality of decision taking. This new project was introduced to the IMHA General Meeting in Goa in September 2009.

By the time of the GM in Odessa in September 2011 the project was well under way, a detailed project plan had been developed, a marketing and branding profile produced, and a website developed. An executive committee was set up in January 2012 to complete the project, which reported to the steering committee (the IMHA Board), who were kept fully appraised of activities and decisions. It became apparent as leading stakeholders were identified, and the scope of the programme reviewed, that rather than being a small scale operation that could be run within IMHA, this had the scope to be a large international programme which would be very important to those wishing to comply with STCW, MLC 2006 and the new ILO/IMO fitness guidelines, particularly maritime authorities and shipping companies.

Accreditation to the IMHA QUALITY standards would need to be open, independent, reliable and clearly unbiased, with no conflicts of interest so as to be acceptable to all concerned. For this reason, it was decided by the Steering Committee and Executive Committees, following expert advice, that IMHA QUALITY would be set up as a separate entity, which has been registered as a charity in the UK to maximise the potential benefit to seafarers.

As IMHA QUALITY has become a quite distinct organisation from IMHA, its parent body, it has been agreed that we should make sure that we define and maintain the links between the two organisations, so that IMHA members can be confident that IMHA QUALITY will continue to work towards the same aims as IMHA, and that IMHA QUALITY would be able to benefit IMHA in the future. For this reason, the Boards of the two organisations have signed up to a Memorandum of Understanding, which you can see on the IMHA QUALITY and IMHA websites.

Trustees and Directors for the Boards of IMHA QUALITY and the operating arm of the organisation, IMHA QUALITY Services have been agreed, and have been chosen to represent different parts of the maritime and healthcare sectors in order to ensure fair representation and to avoid any sort of bias. The IMHA Board will appoint three of a total of seven trustees of IMHA QUALITY. The remaining four trustees are appointed by the board of trustees, and may also be IMHA members, but will not be appointed by IMHA. (see details below)

The first part of the IMHA QUALITY programme which offers accreditation to clinics performing seafarer fitness examinations is now open, and a number of clinics have already registered on the website, and have been sent the baseline (essential) standards to work through. Once it is agreed by means of self assessment that these baseline standards are met, they will then be able to formally join the full programme and start to work towards accreditation at which point their clinics will be entered on the list of clinics openly available on the IMHA QUALITY website.

Once this part of the programme is running successfully, then other standards will be developed, to cover different aspects of maritime healthcare, so that eventually it will be possible for all maritime healthcare providers to obtain validated peer reviewed accreditation. Initial costs are high, but as more clinics sign up, and turnover increases, there is a very real expectation of a source of regular funding for other IMHA projects in the future, so that IMHA QUALITY can fulfil its original aim of benefiting maritime health for all.

Funding

The initial grant did not include start-up costs for a programme this size, and additional funding was sought. At the time IMHA QUALITY was launched, the IMHA QA Executive Committee with support from IMHA QA Steering Committee and later IMHA QUALITY were in dialogue with the TK Foundation regarding an additional grant or an interest free loan. These initial communications gave reason for optimism regarding additional financial support. However, the negotiations with TK became complicated after communications between IMHA Board members were copied to the TK Foundation, and finally the application for a grant or an interest free loan from the TK Foundation was declined. Further efforts continue to be made to obtain start-up funding, so that the programme can be developed in order to meet demand.

Progress

Several groups of stakeholders have been identified, and IMHA QUALITY has chosen to approach them sequentially, starting with those flag states that have their own standards for medical fitness with approved medical examiners abroad, for whom the programme will be most valuable in achieving compliance with MLC 2006. Discussions between Germany, Netherlands, Norway and the UK are currently under way, and results from these discussions should be forthcoming soon.

IMHA QUALITY has the potential to become a very large organisation, and this will be of great benefit to IMHA, and thus to projects aimed at improving seafarer health and maritime medicine world wide.

Appointment of Directors and Trustees

We are very pleased to be able to announce that the following appointments have been made to the Boards of IMHA QUALITY and IMHA QUALITY Services:

Trustees of IMHA QUALITY:

IMHA Representatives:

Dr Alf Magne Horneland Norway

Dr Suresh Idnani India

One to be selected by the new Board, who will be elected in June 2013

Independent

Prof Tim Carter UK

Prof Rodney Taylor UK

Mr Peter McEwen UK

Mr John Kutil USA

Directors of IMHA QUALITY Services:

Dr Bas Rikken Netherlands

Dr David Dungan South Africa

One response awaited

Brief CVs and photos will soon be uploaded to the IMHA QUALITY website. We will be announcing the final Trustee and third Director in the near future.

Who will profit?

We note that questions have been raised in some areas about who might benefit from the activities of IMHA QUALITY, and it has even been suggested that the whole organisation is for the benefit of some IMHA members. In order to put any doubts to rest, we should inform you that the position of Trustee is to be unpaid, and for the present so will the position of Director. It is possible that in the future, if more input is required from Directors of IMHA QUALITY Services in order to run the company efficiently, then an honorarium might be paid. The only paid position at present is that of Programme Manager, since a significant amount of administration is necessary to run the programme, but that being said, the Programme Manager is not drawing a salary at present, and will not be doing so until the programme is making sufficient profit to allow for this. This is for the reason that the whole programme is for the benefit of seafarers and the maritime community, and not for individual profit. Indeed, the regulations governing the organisation (which can be seen on the UK Charity Commission website http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/) make it impossible for individuals to profit from the activities of a charity.

Benefits of Quality Assurance

One of the most important questions that has been asked with respect to the programme is with respect to the benefit that participants might expect from inclusion in this sort of programme. There is to be a session on Quality Assurance at the upcoming International Symposium on Maritime Health in Brest where these questions will be addressed in detail, and for those unable to attend, presentations will be uploaded to our website afterwards. We very much hope to see you there!

Assessors

Another important area of concern is that of the advisors and assessors – clinics are keen to now who will be helping them through the process, and who is to make the assessments for accreditation. As IMHA QUALITY accreditation requires peer review, assessors will all be trained and experienced maritime health professionals who understand the issues facing those working in the maritime healthcare sector. They will not be there to see what is being done wrong, but to see what is being done well, and to share best practice around the world. We can always learn from others – and one very important point is that the standards do not come from any one country but were made up by a committee of maritime health experts from all over the world. As accreditation moves on, suggestions and improvements from participating clinics will ensure that the standards are not set in stone, but are a living document, continuing to reflect current best practice internationally. Details of assessors already trained, and how they are selected will be uploaded to the IMHA QUALITY site before assessments begin.

Media Coverage

As the programme is developing, we are glad to be able to say that we have been receiving some notice by the press. A number of articles have been published, some of which can be seen on our website at the following link http://www.imhaquality.net/latest-news/press-coverage/, and for those who follow Ship Management International, a new article is coming out this May.

Keep an eye on the website for further developments. We will look forward to seeing many of you at the upcoming International Symposium on Maritime Health in Brest (http://www.ismh12.org/)

Why now? What has changed?

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 17:39:49 +0200

International regulations and guidelines have recently been updated to include requirements for quality assurance systems as follows:
MLC 2006.
Regulations and Code
Standard A1.4 – Recruitment and placement
1. Each Member that operates a public seafarer recruitment and placement
service shall ensure that the service is operated in an orderly manner that protects and
promotes seafarers’ employment rights as provided in this Convention.
Guideline B1.4 – Recruitment and placement
Guideline B1.4.1 – Organizational and operational guidelines
1. When fulfilling its obligations under Standard A1.4, paragraph 1, the competent authority should consider:
(a) ……..
(h) exercising supervision of the licensing or certification system on the basis of a system of quality standards.

ILO Guidelines on the medical examinations of seafarers
46. The competent authority should have in place quality assurance procedures to ensure that medical examinations meet the required standards. These should include publicized arrangements for:
(i) ….
(iii) the introduction, where practical, of a nationally agreed review and audit programme for examining medical practitioners’ practices and recordkeeping undertaken by, or on behalf of, the competent authority. Alternatively, they could endorse appropriate external clinical accreditation arrangements for those undertaking seafarers’ medical examinations, the results of which would be made available to the authority.

STCW
Regulation I/8
Quality standards
1 Each Party shall ensure that:
.1 in accordance with the provisions of section A-I/8 of the STCW Code, all training, assessment of competence, certification, including medical certification, endorsement and revalidation activities carried out by non-governmental agencies or entities under its authority are continuously monitored through a quality standards system to ensure achievement of defined objectives, including those concerning the qualifications and experience of instructors and assessors; and
.2 where governmental agencies or entities perform such activities, there shall be a
quality standards system.
2 Each Party shall also ensure that an evaluation is periodically undertaken, in accordance
with the provisions of section A-I/8 of the STCW Code, by qualified persons who are not
themselves involved in the activities concerned. This evaluation shall include all changes to national regulations and procedures in compliance with the amendments to the Convention and STCW Code, with dates of entry into force later than the date information was communicated to the Secretary-General.

Memorandum of Understanding with IMHA

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:17:07 +0200

The Boards of IMHA QUALITY and IMHA have joined forces to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in order to make it quite clear that both organisations have the same aims and objectives

Company Articles and Governance

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 13:49:33 +0100

IMHA QUALITY Articles of Association

IMHA QUALITY Services Articles of Association

UK Charity Commission Good Governance

Ethical guidance has been sought, and we are happy to have Dr Trevor Stammers, Programme Director in Bioethics at Medical Law at St Mary's University College London as our ethical advisor. Please note that this advice is not provided by St Mary's University College.

Privacy Policy

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:27:31 +0100

We are dedicated to safeguarding and preserving your privacy when visiting this site or communicating electronically with IMHA QUALITY. This Privacy Policy, together with the terms and conditions of use, provides an explanation as to what happens to any personal data that you provide, or that we may collect from you.

We may update this Policy from time to time so please do review this page regularly.

Information we Collect

In operating this website we may collect and process the following data about you:

i. Details of your visits to the website and the resources that you access, including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs and other communication data.

ii. Information provided to us when you communicate with us for any reason.

Use of Cookies

When you visit the website, we may automatically collect non-personal information about you, such as the type of internet browser you use, the website from which you have come to the website and your IP address (the unique address which identifies your computer on the internet) which is automatically recognised by the web server. You cannot be identified from this information and it is only used to assist us in providing an effective service on the website and to collect broad demographic information for aggregate use.

The website uses cookies to store this sort of information. Cookies are tiny files placed onto the hard drive of your computer when you enter the website that enable the server to recognize or "remember" who you are each time you return. You can erase or block cookies from your computer if you want to (your helpscreen or manual should tell you how to do this), but certain services may not work correctly or at all if you set your browser not to accept cookies.

Use of Your Information

The information that we collect and store relating to you is primarily used to enable us to improve the website in order to keep you better informed.

Third Party Links

You will find links to third party websites on the website. These websites should have their own privacy policies which you should check. IMHA QUALITY does not accept any responsibility or liability for their policies whatsoever as we have no control over them.

Contacting IMHA QUALITY

We welcome any queries, comments or requests you may have regarding this Privacy Policy. Please do not hesitate to contact us at mail@imhaquality.net.

We may update this Policy from time to time so please do review this page regularly.

Information we Collect

In operating this website we may collect and process the following data about you:

i. Details of your visits to the website and the resources that you access, including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs and other communication data.

ii. Information provided to us when you communicate with us for any reason.

Use of Cookies

Use of Your Information

The information that we collect and store relating to you is primarily used to enable us to improve the website in order to keep you better informed.

Third Party Links

Contacting IMHA QUALITY

We welcome any queries, comments or requests you may have regarding this Privacy Policy. Please do not hesitate to contact us at mail@imhaquality.net.

What are the principles of Peer Review?

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:43:39 +0100

Principles of peer review include:

* Expertise – peer reviewers possess appropriate skills and expertise to be able to make a judgement.

* Balance – the process should reflect the current range of views and opinions in the field.

* Impartiality – a peer should have nothing to gain from giving an opinion or making a judgement and conflicts of interest must be declared.

* Expertise – peer reviewers possess appropriate skills and expertise to be able to make a judgement.

* Balance – the process should reflect the current range of views and opinions in the field.

* Impartiality – a peer should have nothing to gain from giving an opinion or making a judgement and conflicts of interest must be declared.

What is Peer Review?

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:44:09 +0100

Peer review is commonly used in the healthcare setting, and is all about improving services, raising standards, improving consistency and being developmental as well as instrumental. A Peer is someone you would consider an equal in terms or roles, expertise and understanding – this includes qualifications and experience, existing skills and additional skills such as those gained during assessor training.

Who will carry out the assessment for accreditation and how will you assure the quality of their work?

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:01:30 +0200

IMHA Quality Assessors are all qualified doctors who are maritime health professionals. To be an IMHA QUALITY assessor does not just require the possession of the relevant qualifications, but also requires current appropriate experience and knowledge of maritime healthcare and quality as well as specific training and updating in the field. Only in this way can we achieve true peer review. Selection for training is made by CV in the first instance, and recommendations for appointment will be made by CHKS (the organisation performing the training), based on performance during the training process. All will receive update training regularly as well as attending assessments as observers in order to ensure that judgements are made in line with policy. Assessors will be accompanied and assessed on some of their assessments, either by other assessors trained by IMHA QUALITY, or by external reviewers who will be providing our external quality assurance.

We have already trained our first group of assessors, using a training programme developed and approved by CHKS.

About IMHA QUALITY

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:11:52 +0200

IMHA QUALITY is a Private Limited Company (Registration No: 8176163) entered on the Register of Charities with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, registered charity number 1148709. IMHA QUALITY Services is the operational arm of the company, which is also a Private Limited Company (Registration No: 8180889)

The IMHA QUALITY Programme provides a quality assurance tool for medical facilities performing seafarerfitness examinations by:

Setting out the elements needed to ensure the capacity to provide a consistent high quality service.
Specifying standards that define best practice for providing medical fitness examinations for seafarers worldwide
Providing a framework for quality assurance, quality improvement and IMHA accreditation.
IMHA accreditation will encompass named senior doctors, the provision of other competent staff and the premises used. Accreditation is not transferable.
The standards are designed to be applicable to single handed practices as well as to larger organisations, whether stand-alone occupational health facilities, or clinical staff working within a larger organisation such as a hospital.
These standards only apply to seafarer medical fitness examinations and do not apply to other services provided by the facility.
The standards relate solely to professional activities and do not extend to an employer’s legal responsibilities, which should already be addressed by existing laws and regulations.

NB The term ‘standards’ refers to the quality assurance standards developed for maritime health clinics and should not be confused with the statutory standards that underpin fitness requirements for seafarer medical certificates.

The programme enables an organisation to examine itself critically against an internationally recognised framework of organisational standards. Self-assessment and external peer review of performance against these standards will provide the basis for accreditation and help to drive continuous quality improvement.

Working towards accreditation will encourage staff in the organisation to question what is done, how they do it and how better results could be achieved, more efficiently and more effectively. Thus the process will highlight good practice, whilst setting an agenda for improving service and team development.

PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAMME

The accreditation programme is open to any clinic or medical practitioner providing medical fitness examinations for seafarers.

Get started, sign up here

Why is IMHA QUALITY an improvement on current arrangements?

Tue, 15 May 2012 13:24:13 +0200

The answer to this question varies from place to place. Some administrations such as Philippines and UK have audit arrangements for maritime health providers but most do not. None of the existing ones are recognised internationally. Some employers and P&I Clubs do inspect the clinics they use but their approval solely relates to the use of a clinic to meet their individual needs and is not open to all but only to those chosen. Inspectors vary in their expertise and qualification, while the IMHA QUALITY programme assessors will all be trained and experienced maritime health specialists, thus allowing true peer review.

ISO certification is held by a number of maritime health clinics; while these standards are sound on general management topics they are not adapted for medical service use. IMHA QUALITY will bring a fully fit for purpose set of standards into use internationally, simplifying and reducing the work and costs for clinic users.