Launch of Quality Assurance Mark for community Health and Wellbeing providers in Torbay and South Devon

Today we are launching the Quality Assurance (QA) Mark - developed for the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations that provide Health and Wellbeing services and activities in the Torbay and South Devon area.

The scheme is offered free of charge for the first 40 organisations who want to participate, following start-up funding from the NHS Foundation Trust.

The aim of the QA Mark is to contribute to the health and wellbeing of our communities by providing the option of a quality assurance scheme to boost confidence and build trust with the statutory and other sectors, particularly around the areas of service quality, data management, confidentiality, and training and support for volunteers. The scheme is also designed to highlight the range of quality VCSE services available that support proactive good health and wellbeing in the community, especially for the most vulnerable.

The QA Mark has been developed by Teignbridge CVS, South Hams CVS and Torbay Community Development Trust with input from a selection of local voluntary organisations.

The scheme is endorsed by Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust who funded the research and development stage, pilot project and startup costs.
The feedback from the pilot project with a selection of voluntary sector organisations that developed and tested the Quality Mark has been positive.

“Took 25 minutes to complete initial run through – good so not too lengthy”
“The form is straightforward and not too daunting”
“Would have no concerns about completing it”
“Volunteer section useful in helping prioritise some of our plans”
“Good to have a standard for smaller organisations”

Support, guidance and resources will be provided in our role to strengthen the capacity and resilience of the sector to respond to the needs of our communities and national and regional policies outcomes.

To REGISTER with the Scheme and/or to find out more information, contact the QA Mark office in your locality.

A big thank you to the following organisations who took part in the pilot:  
​Totnes Caring, Dartmouth Caring, Volunteering in Health, The Strand Community Centre, Alice Cross Centre, SPOT, AGE UK Torbay, Brixham YES, Play Torbay, Dawlish Community Transport.