Royal Surrey certified as a provider of safe, reliable, high quality health and social care information

The Royal Surrey County Hospital been certified as a provider of high quality health and social care information by The Information Standard scheme. The Royal Surrey met the scheme criteria of producing safe and reliable health and social care information. The organisation has consequently been awarded The Information Standard quality mark, which it can display on its literature and website illustrating to the public that its information can be trusted. 

According to a survey carried out by The Information Standard[1], the majority of the general public (72%) believe that they would be better able to manage their own and their family’s health if they had quick and easy access to health information they could trust. The Information Standard, which is supported by the Department of Health, was launched to provide this kind of assurance.  

Angela Coulter PhD, Hon FFPH, Hon FRCGP, an independent healthcare analyst who advises on the scheme, commented:  

“Organisations that become certified members of the scheme, and therefore display The Information Standard quality mark on their health information or social care materials, have proven that they adhere to the very highest standards of information production. The public can feel confident that if they see The Information Standard quality mark on health and social care websites or leaflets then the information can be trusted and relied upon.”  

Louise Stead, Director of Nursing and Patient Experience at the Royal Surrey, said: 

“It is vital that patients know they have reliable information to inform them about their condition and treatment when they come in to hospital.   We produce hundreds of patient information leaflets and with this certification patients can be reassured that every detail has been through the proper process to ensure it is correct and up to date. 

“Staff across the Trust have worked extremely hard to make sure our patient information is of the highest quality and I’d like to thank them for their efforts in achieving this Information Standard certification.”

Any organisation that produces health and social care information can apply to become a certified member of the scheme.

[1] Results taken from a survey, conducted on behalf of The Information Standard scheme of 2100 people in England in November 2010.