Accréditation Sans Frontières · ASF Health Standards 9.0
Standard 1 · Access & Arrival
5 criteria · base standard
Base standard. 5 criteria, of which 4 non-negotiable. Each criterion is numbered 1.Y, with its classification and verification questions.
Criteria
- 1.1 Findable Before Arrival (NON-NEGOTIABLE)
- 1.2 Facility Grounds and Territory Entrance (NON-NEGOTIABLE)
- 1.3 Physical Access, or a Dated Plan (NON-NEGOTIABLE)
- 1.4 Emergency Entrance, Marked and Clear (NON-NEGOTIABLE)
- 1.5 Wayfinding Without Staff Dependence (CORE)
1.1 Findable Before Arrival
NON-NEGOTIABLE
The facility's name, address, phone number, and mapped location are correct, current, and independently verifiable by anyone searching as a patient would, and the range of services offered is published and kept current, not left for a prospective patient to discover only by calling or arriving in person.
VERIFICATION QUESTIONS
- Is the facility name, address and phone number correct on the facility's own website and on every public listing?
Not the address on file with a regulator years ago — what a patient searching today would find. - Does the phone number listed connect to the facility when called?
Tested directly, not assumed because it was correct when first published. - If a map location is used, does the pin match the entrance, not a nearby approximation?
A pin one block off sends ambulances to the wrong street in an emergency. - Is the range of services the facility provides published somewhere a prospective patient can find it before contacting the facility, and kept up to date as services change?
Current public information, not a service list last updated years ago or available only by asking.
1.2 Facility Grounds and Territory Entrance
NON-NEGOTIABLE
The facility's territory begins at its first point of entry — the gate, main entrance, or boundary of the grounds — not at the building door. The approach from that point is safe, clean, and clearly the facility's own space.
VERIFICATION QUESTIONS
- Is the boundary of the facility's grounds
gate, fence line, or first entry point — clearly identifiable as the facility's own territory? — Not the building itself — the point where a visitor first enters land the facility is responsible for. - Is the approach from that entry point to the building itself safe, maintained and clean?
Walkways, lighting, and general upkeep of the grounds themselves, not just the building interior. - Is there a single, clear route from the territory entrance to the main building, not multiple ambiguous paths?
A confusing arrival sequence undermines confidence before the visit has even properly begun.
1.3 Physical Access, or a Dated Plan
NON-NEGOTIABLE
At least one entrance is usable by a wheelchair user without staff needing to lift or carry them. Where full access does not yet exist, the facility holds a specific, budgeted, dated plan to close the gap.
VERIFICATION QUESTIONS
- Is there at least one entrance a wheelchair user can use without staff physically lifting or carrying them?
A step, a narrow doorway, or a door too heavy to open unaided each counts as a barrier. - If not, is there a specific, budgeted, dated plan to close the gap?
Not "we have discussed it" — a named structural change, a budget line, a date. - Has any step already been taken toward that plan?
A quote obtained, materials ordered, or work scheduled — not just intention.
1.4 Emergency Entrance, Marked and Clear
NON-NEGOTIABLE
Where the facility has a distinct emergency entrance, it is clearly marked from the approach a person would take, visible before arrival, and kept clear at all times.
VERIFICATION QUESTIONS
- Is the emergency entrance signed clearly enough to be seen before reaching the main door?
Visible from the approach an ambulance or member of the public would take. - Is the route to it kept physically clear at all times?
Not just clear when checked — clear as a matter of routine. - Would two different staff members give the same directions to it if asked separately?
Inconsistent directions from staff usually means the signage itself is inadequate.
1.5 Wayfinding Without Staff Dependence
CORE
Basic wayfinding allows someone with no prior knowledge of the building to locate reception, toilets, and the main clinical areas without stopping to ask for directions more than once.
VERIFICATION QUESTIONS
- Can a first-time visitor find reception using only the posted signage?
Not staff intercepting and redirecting. - Can they find the nearest toilet and one named clinical department in the same way?
Test this with someone who has never been inside the building before. - Is signage consistent across every floor, or does it stop after the ground floor?
A common, specific failure. ————————————————————