How the Independent Healthcare Advisory Services works

IHAS is a trade body of UK independent acute healthcare providers, facilitated by the secretariat at Centre Point. It is uniquely focussed upon improving quality and safety, and practical regulation and operational issues which must function efficiently for Members' organisations to work well. IHAS has a notable record for facilitating beneficial changes for our Members. We are the largest and longest established independent healthcare trade body devoted to helping its Members improve the quality of profitable independent healthcare.

IHAS is uniquely positioned to bring together influential personalities and opinions for the common good. IHAS works with a broad range of healthcare organisations to contribute to and influence operational and regulatory policy in independent healthcare.

How IHAS does this

The IHAS Membership supports a series of workstreams which are co-operatives of experts nominated by member healthcare providers. IHAS now facilitates some twelve different Workstreams which advance essential matters of operational and regulatory relevance to Members.

The work undertaken by the IHAS working groups results in member-wide endorsement of policy statements and guidance notes, often in conjunction with key healthcare stakeholders such as the General Medical Council, General Dental Council, British Medical Association and the Medical Royal Colleges.

IHAS supports a central Secretariat based in London, headed by the Director, Sally Taber, who has access across the healthcare sector, to the Departments of Health of all four countries of the UK, and to the regulatory bodies. It assembles and sends to members the prestigious IHAS Update containing all the important information relevant to the healthcare sector.

IHAS provides leadership. For its Members IHAS gives sector leadership for

• Benchmarking of clinical outcomes
• Medical Revalidation
• Quality Standards and Registers
• Information Governance
• Information technology
• Medicines management and alerts
• Patient experience, safety and quality
• Perioperative care
• Long term conditions facilities
• Workforce development.

IHAS Membership brings many benefits to it's Members:- influence where it matters; timely, essential information; well informed advice; industry networking; events for learning; marketing, business and financial opportunities; the prestige of belonging to the best known and best connected trade body in the healthcare sector.

• IHAS Workstreams

 Read our IHAS Update 

Trade Association Forum

IHAS is a member of the Trade Association Forum (TAF), which is run under the auspices of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) to encourage good practice among its members. As a member, IHAS gains from the interchange with others who provide services in their respective industries. IHAS promotes the independent healthcare sector within TAF and abides by the TAF Code of Practice.

 Read the Trade Association Forum Code of Practice (236.2 kB)

Our partner organisations

IHAS works for all its Members, many of whom will also subscribe to NHS Partners and the Private Hospitals Alliance. It shares agendas and Members with NHS Partners and Private Hospitals Alliance so that each concentrates on its particular interests, avoiding double action where possiblr. IHAS has an established network of contacts with influential people from the majority of the regulatory and representative bodies that work in the field of health care. This enables it to seek information and guidance on behalf of its members, or to contribute its experience of the independent sector to other agencies. This may often result in the joint recognition of policies and guidance notes issued in conjunction with organisations such as the Care Quality Commission, MHRA, NICE, NPSA, The Patient Association, General Medical Council, the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing, Cosmetic Surgery bodies, the Perioperative Care Collaborative, the Critical Care Stakeholders Group and many more.

Connections to some of the organisations IHAS works with to help develop operational policy and regulation are shown below. Their appearance here does not indicate an endorsement, but is designed to illustrate some of the IHAS working relationships.