The public can be confident that The Royal Marsden is a trusted and reliable source of health and social care information.
The Royal Marsden has been certified as a quality provider of health and social care information by The Information Standard – a new certification scheme for health and social care information.
The Royal Marsden has demonstrated they have the necessary processes and systems to ensure their patient information meets the rigorous quality criteria of The Information Standard. The Royal Marsden has consequently been awarded The Information Standard quality mark, which they can display on their information materials as a mark of quality and reassurance for the public.
Good quality information
The majority of the general public (71%)* feels overwhelmed by the health and social care information available to them. The Information Standard was launched by the Department of Health as an initiative to give the public a quick way of identifying good quality health and social care information, and to drive up standards among producers.
Angela Coulter PhD, Hon FFPH, Hon FRCGP, an independent healthcare analyst who advises on the scheme, commented: “Those organisations that are able to display The Information Standard mark will immediately be able to differentiate themselves from competitors, as producing high quality information that people can rely upon. The rigorous certification procedure will help to raise information production standards and inspire confidence in organisations that they are performing to the highest standards.”
Helen Mills, Head of Quality Assurance at The Royal Marsden, said of the accreditation: “We are delighted with this accreditation. The Royal Marsden prides itself of the quality of information we provide to our patients.”
About the scheme
There are more than 50,000 organisations producing health and social care information in England. Any of these can apply to join the scheme and become certified, whether they are a public sector organisation (NHS or local authority), a voluntary sector organisation, or a commercial company.
* Omnibus survey of 1,000 adults commissioned by DH and carried out by TNS in March 2007