ICARe-HF

Improving heart failure care through accreditation and recognition.

A European Society of Cardiology and Heart Failure Association international accreditation programme

“ICARe-HF is creating a ‘gold standard’ in heart failure services across the HFA’s network of National Heart Failure Societies and Working Groups in Europe. It will give centres status, attract new talent and may also act as a lever to access tools such as NTproBNP that may not currently be available. It could also persuade commissioners to invest where needed to improve patient care”

Dr. Lisa Anderson, St. George's, University of London & St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

This innovative programme evaluates individual centre performances in heart failure against recognised standards of care developed by the ESC guidelines and the HF Specialist Curriculum. Centres meeting or exceeding these standards will be accredited as an HFA Quality of Care Centre (QCC)

The ICARe-HF programme is supported in the UK by the BSH

The Heart Failure team at Craigavon Area Hospital, Portadown, led by Professor Patricia Campbell (Consultant Cardiologist and Heart Failure Lead in Northern Ireland) acted as a test site for the UK, and are now an accredited Specialised QCC

“Our team acted as test site for the UK, and are now an accredited Specialised QCC. I highly recommend applying – the benefits of accreditation are multi-fold and outlined below, but an immediate effect for our team was a significant boost in morale with recognition of the quality of the work that our multidisciplinary team members undertake striving for excellence in patient care”

Professor Patricia Campbell, MRCPI, FESC, Consultant Cardiologist and Clinical Lead for Heart Failure, Northern Ireland

The Programme

  • Any centre wishing to apply for accreditation should first contact their Regional Lead. They can explain the process and timescales involved.

    Our thanks to the BSH Regional Leads for giving up their time to support this valuable programme

    NI lead: Edith Donnelly - edith.donnelly@southerntrust.hscni.net 

    England lead: Rebecca Hyland - rebecca.hyland1@nhs.net 

    Wales lead: Mandie Welch - Mandie.Welch@wales.nhs.uk

    Scotland lead: Leeanne Macklin - leeanne.macklin@nhs.scot

  • Once you have contacted your Regional Lead, your centre’s HF Lead should complete the online application at ICARe-HF - Recognising excellence in heart failure.

    The accreditation process includes validation of your centre’s category based on structural criteria, including your patient types, setting, accessibility, portfolio, equipment, and staffing.  

    It also involves evaluation of performance and adherence to ESC Guidelines. This will be through mandatory participation in the GRASP-HF Snapshot Study, a repetitive snapshot with a yearly short enrolment period, to capture the relevant clinical information of patients with HF, including their acute episodes of decompensation.  

    GRASP-HF: a heart failure snapshot study.

  • Your BSH Regional Lead will review your application and documents to confirm their accuracy and completeness. This will be done within 21 days of receipt.

    Once the details have been checked, your Regional Lead will provide your centre’s information and their recommendation to the BSH Chair of the Board. Our Chair will then complete your Letter of Support within 21 days of receipt.

  • Once you have completed your pre-accreditation and submitted all the required information along with your BSH Letter of Support, this will be considered by the ICARE-HF Committee.

    They will notify you when your accreditation is confirmed. Please note this process can take up to 2 months.

    Once your final accreditation status has been received, your centre will be publicised in our Register of Accredited QCCs shown below.

  • The process of accreditation is about raising standards, meaning centres will continue to get feedback to identify gaps in education and research and will receive recommendations on how to bridge these. 

    If accredited, HFA Quality of Care Centres will benefit from: 

    • Recognition of their quality of care at a European level 

    • Improved information for referral sources and patients on the categorisation of the centre 

    • Access to a network of HFA Accredited Centres in Europe

    • Listed on the ESC/HFA webpage as an accredited site

    • Publicised in the BSH Register of Accredited UK Sites shown below.

Find Out More

Accreditation Requirements

    1. Examination beds + O2 monitoring

    2. Resuscitation facilities

    3. NT-proBNP access

    4. ABGs on site

    5. ECG on site

    6. Min of 2 cardiologists and 2 nurses

    7. Availability of other specialists (renal/endocrine/resp/cardiac surgeon)

    1. 24/7 cath lab and PPCI

    2. CCU in site

    3. NT-proBNP access

    4. Min of 3 cardiologists and 3 nurses

    1. 24/7 cath lab with PPCI

    2. 24/7 cardiac surgery including LVAD/BiVAD and Tx

    3. On site EP/ablation

There are different requirements depending on the level of accreditation you are applying for. Check here to see what is necessary at your particular centre.

Contact us if you have any questions.

Register of UK Accredited QCCs