Applying for accreditation for psychiatric care homes (MSP)

Managers of psychiatric care homes (MSP)

To obtain accreditation, you must meet several conditions.

• Your facility must have a legal personality. Your facility must legally exist and take one of the following forms:
• a non-profit association;
• an international non-profit association;
• a foundation;
• a legal entity under public law;
• an association with legal personality where the majority is held by public authorities (excluding companies).

• You must carry out your duties as a psychiatric care home as defined in Article 538/2:
• providing stable accommodation;
• providing appropriate support;
• enabling service recipients to make progress in their social autonomy and daily life.

• You must draw up an initial service project (Article 538/3) and commit to implement it:
• the service project shall bring together all the actions of an MSP and aligns them with its missions;
• the project shall focus on the service recipients;
• the project shall include at least:
• the identification of the MSP and its environment;
• an explanation how the MSP fits into the mental health network;
• the definition of the MSP’s objectives and action plan;
• the self-assessment mechanisms put in place to ensure the MSP’s proper functioning.
• You must commit to:
• drawing up a new service project every five years, in compliance with Article 538/3;
• concluding one or more agreements referred to in Article 538/6;
• becoming a member of at least one mental health consultation platform;
• having a multidisciplinary team that complies with the provisions laid down by the Government pursuant to Articles 538/9 to 538/12;
• organising the multidisciplinary consultation referred to in Article 538/13;
• ensuring surveillance both day and night as referred to in Article 538/14;
• having a building complying with Articles 538/17 to 538/22, or request a derogation as provided for in those Articles;
• complying with the requirements of Articles 538/23 and 538/24;
• keeping individual files for each service recipient as referred to in Article 538/25;
• drawing up a personal data protection record as referred to in Article 538/26 paragraph 2;
• respecting the rights of the service recipients as set out in Articles 538/27 to 538/29;
• charging accommodation prices lower or equal to those set in accordance with Article 538/30;
• collecting and reporting the socio-epidemiological data referred to in Article 538/32;
• participating in the programme drawn up by the Government or an authority delegated by the Government pursuant to Article 538/33;
• complying with the ethical rules defined by the Government.
• The following commitments must be implemented no later than six months from the date of granting the accreditation:
• concluding of one or more collaboration agreements with other service providers or mental health professionals (paragraph 6);
• participating in at least one mental health consultation platform (paragraph 7);
• using a disciplinary team in accordance with the conditions laid down by the Government relating to the functions, qualifications and working hours of the members of the team.

The Government may specify the above accreditation conditions. If necessary, it may also include one or more additional accreditation conditions.

The application for accreditation must be submitted to the Department for Medical Care and Accommodation Services (Direction ‘Accueil et Hébergement Santé’) by any means capable of proving the date of dispatch:

• by post (Rue de la Rivelaine à 6061 Charleroi);
• by email to the address:  hebergement.sante@aviq.be.

If your documentation is incomplete, the AVIQ will request the missing documents. Once your documentation is complete, the AVIQ will acknowledge receipt of the application for accreditation within ten days of receiving the complete documentation.

The psychiatric care home (MSP) has one month from the submission of the application to complete its documentation. Failing that, its application for accreditation will be deemed inadmissible.

• Walloon Code on Social Action and Health - Decree section
• Walloon Regulatory Code for Social Action and Health