Quality in community care: Moving beyond mediocrity

Abstract

This article looks at the links between the development of quality assurance in industry and the history of quality in health and social services. It proposes that the failure to implement effective quality assurance strategies in health and social care is due to an overemphasis on monitoring and inspection. A new approach is explored, based on the notion of continuous quality improvement. This approach demands a radical shift from the traditional view of quality assurance and places a clear emphasis on partnership with users and worker control over quality-related activities