Services Standards: Defining the Core Consumer Elements ... - ANEC

Services Standards
The two other projects, NEN/SN on smart house services, and AFNOR on
residential homes, are more directly concerned with all sorts of services the
elderly need once they are living in residential homes.
AFNOR’s involvement in a European project is certainly influenced by the
existence of a French standard NF X 50-058 in this field ‘Etablissement
d’hébergement pour personnes agées’. This standard can be regarded as a
counterpart to DIN 77800. The existence of two different approaches in two
Member States allows for a more detailed comparison of the degree to which
the six core consumer elements are taken into account.
1. Scope, education and skills
In the field of services provided to the elderly be it at home (i.e. services for
resident people), or be it services provided at residential homes for those who
are no longer able to manage their own lives or at residential homes for those
who need some support in organising their lives but are in principle still
autonomous, the professional skills of the service providers are of utmost
importance. This is true for management of the services and performance of the
services towards clients. Seen against this background, the diverse national
and European standards and guidelines are not very telling. The requirements
laid down in the AFNOR and DIN standards are relatively vague and do not
provide much guidance on what sort of skills are really needed. All standards
refrain from asking for specific certificates or professional qualifications that
require professional education.
Scope/purpose
Smart house
services for
elderly and
disabled
people
NEN/SN
(project),
Residential
homes for
elderly people
AFNOR
(project)
and AFNOR NF
X 50-058
1) NEN/SN
Identify the
possibilities for
standardisation
in Europe,
Scope: social
alarming
Services for
resident
people
AFNOR
(project)
and
AFNOR NF X
50-056
AFNOR
(project)
1) services with
a domestic
dominant
(cleaning,
CEN/CENELEC
Guide 6
Guidelines for
standard
developers to
address the
needs of older
persons and
persons with
disabilities
0.4. this guide is
intended to be
part of the
overall
framework that
standard-setting
bodies use in
Assisted living
for the elderly
DIN 77800
1. applicable to
assisted living
for the elderly
only,
independent of
the legal quality
of the operator
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