Dr. D. Orlando Smith Hospital Achieves Three-Year Re-Accreditation

The Dr. D. Orlando Smith Hospital has secured re-accreditation for an additional three years from DNV-GL (DET Norske Veritas from Norway and Germanischer Lloyd) based in Germany.

Minister for Health and Social Development, Honourable Vincent O. Wheatley, revealed this achievement during a recent session of the House of Assembly. He commended the dedicated team at the British Virgin Islands Health Services Authority (BVIHSA) for their relentless efforts and hard work, which played a pivotal role in this success.

Honourable Wheatley acknowledged that the BVIHSA team had invested years crafting hundreds of new policies and tirelessly improving various aspects that directly impacted the quality and safety of care provided by the Authority.

The Health Minister stated, “The choice of the DNV program was deliberate because it aligns with the BVIHSA’s steadfast commitment to patient safety and overall quality. DNV-GL is a preeminent accreditation body that employs a developmental, stepwise approach to accreditation, ensuring organisations like the BVIHSA are constantly in pursuit of excellence while adhering to globally recognised standards and best practices.”

The DNV-GL accreditation is widely regarded as the gold standard in healthcare, incorporating NIAHO (National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations) and ISO (International Standards Organization) 9001 standards for healthcare, as well as ISO 15189 for medical laboratories.

Back in 2020, the Dr. D. Orlando Smith Hospital received its initial accreditation from DNV-GL, a respected organization that accredits over 635 hospitals in the United States of America and 15 hospitals across Brazil, China, Iceland, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, and Thailand.

Honourable Wheatley emphasized, “Within our region, we stand shoulder to shoulder with distinguished healthcare facilities such as Health City Cayman Islands, Barbados Fertility Centre, Bermuda Hospitals Board, and Doctors Hospital in the Bahamas, all accredited by Joint Commission International.”

He further added, “Additionally, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados, Bermuda Hospitals Board, and Interhealth Canada (TCI) LTD in the Turks and Caicos Islands hold accreditation from Accreditation Canada. Remarkably, the BVIHSA, the steward of Dr. D. Orlando Smith Hospital, is one of only three public health systems in the region with internationally accredited status.”

To maintain its accreditation, the BVIHSA underwent a meticulous self-assessment, followed by a readiness assessment and a formal assessment of compliance with DNV-GL/NIOSH standards earlier this year. In the second year, the Health Service Authority will undergo a follow-up DNV-GL assessment and an ISO 9001 pre-assessment to demonstrate sustained progress. In the third year, BVIHSA will culminate this journey with an ISO 9001 certification audit to validate the quality of the management system.