The Outside Clinic: Well equipped for IQIPS

The Outside Clinic, currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, began offering an audiology service in 2000. However, only in the past seven years and with the subsequent introduction of NHS Any Qualified Provider (AQP) contracts in 2013 has it stepped out of the shadows of mainly home eye testing.

Domiciliary eye care still accounts for a significant part of the Outside Clinic’s activity, but the hearing provision has been growing year on year as the demands of an ever-ageing population drive the requirement of dual sensory care solutions in the community.

A sharp increase in patient numbers can present its own challenges of improving and maintaining levels of support, and in response the company decided to apply for IQIPS (Improving Quality in Physiological Services) accreditation. IQIPS is a professionally led assessment and certification programme designed to improve services, care and safety for patients.