The Memory Services National Accreditation Programme (MSNAP) works with services to assure and improve the quality of memory services for people with memory problems / dementia and their carers. It engages staff in a comprehensive process of review, through which good practice and high quality care are recognised, and services are supported to identify and address areas for improvement.
Involving service users and carers in MSNAP is a priority, and people with first hand experience of using memory services are encouraged to get involved in all stages of the accreditation process.
Accreditation assures staff, service users and carers, commissioners and regulators of the quality of the service being provided.
MSNAP is led by the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Centre for Quality Improvement.
Use the links below to find out more about MSNAP
- Why accreditation is important
- How accreditation works
- How to join
- List of current members
- MSNAP standards
- Resources
- About peer reviewing
- Governance
- MSNAP partner organisations
Standards for Memory Services Assessment and Diagnosis
MSNAP has produced Standards for Memory Services Assessment and Diagnosis. The overarching principles that have guided the development of the standards are that:
- People with memory problems/dementia should have fair access to assessment, care and treatment on the basis of need, irrespective of age, gender, social or cultural background, and are not excluded from services because of their diagnosis, age or co-existing disabilities/medical problems.
- People with memory problems/dementia and their carers should receive a service that is person-centred and takes into account their unique and changing personal, psychosocial and physical needs.
Memory services differ widely in their organisation, funding, staffing and levels of service, even within the same Trust. The standards therefore currently centre on ‘function’, rather than any particular model of service delivery. The standards and criteria focus on ‘assessment’ and ‘diagnosis’, as these have been identified nationally as the common function of memory services.
MSNAP National Report
The first MSNAP National Report takes note of the findings of the first year of the national programme, including details of awarded accreditations, common areas for improvement, patient and carer themes, and anonymised benchmarked data.
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