Procedure for Applications for accreditation of CPD activities to SASLHA Accreditation Committee

SASLHA is both an Accredited Service Provider and an Accrediting body for individuals and non-accredited service provider organisations who wish to have their activities accredited.

For your convenience, we have detailed pertinent information on the Accreditation of activities and the application procedure for you to follow when submitting your activity to SASLHA to be accredited. Among other responsibilities, the role of the accrediting body is to:

• Review and accredit applications for the provision of level 1 or level 2 activities by non-accredited service providers, or individuals according to the guidelines
• Assign CEUs to the activity as per guidelines
• Monitor services providers’ (i.e. the convenor of the activity) compliance with the guidelines in providing the CPD activity
• Revise or revoke the points awarded if the provider fails to comply with the guidelines

SASLHA’s accreditation committee is directly responsible to HPCSA. Please note that the scope of this service is to allocate CEUs for time spent in CPD activities and in no way is it the same as awarding qualifications, certifying as to competence if skills are taught, licensing, etc.

In line with the HPCSA guidelines and in line with other Accrediting bodies represented on the National Accreditors Forum, SASLHA has set up an Accreditation Committee that will function under the auspices of the Professional Development Officer. The Accreditation Committee will look after the administrative CEU allocation, and where deemed necessary will appoint and liaise, with experts who will review applications on an ad hoc basis to ensure quality assurance. What information is needed for an application to have a CPD activity accredited by SASLHA?

• Electronic submission of the request at least three months prior to the activity but no later than four weeks prior to the activity: Please bear in mind that the application has to be submitted to our Accreditation Committee As this is a service offered by volunteers, it is important that the time frame is adequate.
• SASLHA does not accredit activities retrospectively as per HPCSA Guidelines. 
• SASLHA will charge the following fees which will be reviewed on a yearly basis as prescribed by the HPCSA guidelines:

• No applications will be processed without proof of payment. The fee is not refundable should the activity be declined or sent back for refinement. Our banking details are as follows: Please use the following reference on your beneficiary description:

• CPD–followed by the applicants surname e.g. CPDSmith
• Account name: SASLHA First National Bank
• Centurion Branch – Branch code: 261550
• Account: 50540051766
• Swift address: FIRNZAJ
• Please email proof of payments to admin@saslha.co.za

• Application form: A completed HPCSA Form CPD 2A which asks for all your contact details and a suggestion of the level and points that may be allocated. Please consult the HPCSA guidelines if you are unsure of this.
• Presenter/s’ abbreviated CV that must include: An indication that the presenter/s are currently in practice related to the health services (clinical, teaching, research, or management) in the area. An indication of the presenter/s’ expertise in the field).
• Activity programme: A programme of events that is complete enough for us to assess the quality of the subject content, with the main teaching focus outlined. A detailed time table of the programme and the presenters in order to calculate the contact time for delegates and who presented.
• Venue information: The facilities available for the presentation of the CPD activities (this pertains to the venue, facilities and administrative support).
• Cost information: The scale of fees to be charged for the activity.
• Attendance information: A sample of the attendance register that will be taken at the activity
• Evaluation information: An indication of the method that will be used to evaluate feedback or evaluation of the event (note that this does not relate to the venue, refreshments etc., but directly to the educational value of the activity).
• Certificate: A sample of the certificate that will be issued. The certificate must show: the accreditation number which will be issued once the activity has been accredited, the accrediting organisation (SASLHA) the topic and level of the activity, the name and registration number of the attendee, and the number of CEUs in the level allocated, as well as the date of the event. The convenor must sign certificates prior to issue, which should preferably be on the day of the event.
• Advert for event: If the event will be advertised publicly, a copy of the draft advert that will be used. Note adverts must indicate the Accrediting body and the number of CEUs to be obtained and may not be advertised before the activity is accredited. Do not include the accreditation number on the advert.

Organisers’ post activity responsibility: 

1. Lists of attendees must be submitted as per the approved HPCSA template and sent to the HPCSA (cpdproviders@hpcsa.co.za) cc'ing SASLHA Office Administrator (admin@saslha.co.za). See an example of the HPCSA template below in CPD Documentation. 
2. The convenor must keep an attendance record plus a record of certificates issued for at least three years after the event.

Journal club applications (or programmes lasting one year): The initial application for a journal club must include: the schedule of journals to be discussed. The limitations placed on the age of articles permitted should be outlined (not older than 5 years). Journals should be peer-reviewed and of high scientific quality (try to choose from a wide range of journals - remember that a portion of the points for presenting is for sourcing the article). Trade journals will not be accepted; nor will short articles from websites such as e-medicine etc. Details of how copyright issues will be dealt with should be provided. Three sample articles (representative of the journals to be presented). The scientific quality and the length of the article should be taken into account to ensure that the presentation stimulates debate and discussion (not too many graphs and tables). As a guide, the article should be detailed enough to allow for a 45-minute presentation and then allow for 15 minutes discussion. At the end of the year/ programme the organiser must submit: the attendance registers as detailed above the topics presented to confirm the initial application’s proposed programme. Types of activities that can be accredited by the SASLHA Accreditation Committee: These are once-off activities (not presented on a continuous basis). The outcome of activities can be measured using either qualitative and quantitative methods. CEUs are allocated according to time, one CEU per hour to a maximum of eight CEUs per day. Presenters of such activities can be allocated double CEUs.

Presenters / co-presenters can only claim once for CEUs if the same activity is presented more than once.

These activities include:

1. breakfast meetings or presentations;
2. formally arranged hospital or inter-departmental meetings or updates;
3. case study discussions;
4. formally organised special purpose teaching/ learning ward rounds (not including routine service ward rounds);
5. formally organised special purpose lectures that are not part of a business meeting;
6. mentoring/supervision, peer supervision and activities that are specific to certain professions;
7. conferences, symposia, refresher courses, short courses without a measurable outcome, international conferences (see section 1);
8. interest groups meeting regularly with a minimum of six meetings per year;
9. morbidity and mortality meetings (one CEU per hour for both presenter and attendee); as well as
10. health personnel who supervise undergraduates/ interns/ postgraduates in clinical/ technical training in collaboration with an accredited training institution on a regular basis during the academic year (if not in job description) (two per student) (max sixteen CEUs per calendar year).
11. Workshops, lectures, seminars on ethics (one CEU per hour)

1.1.1 Activities that are available on an ongoing basis and are managed within rules of an accredited structure (HEI and/or Professional Organisations)

1.2 Level 2

This level comprises structured learning, i.e. a formal programme that is planned and offered by an accredited training institution, evaluated by an accredited assessor and has a measurable outcome.

Activities include:

No prior approval by an accreditor necessary

1. postgraduate degrees, diplomas and certificates that are recognised as additional qualifications by the relevant professional board – at the end of each year of study (not exceeding the normal duration of the degree); thirty CEUs may be claimed upon submitting an academic report on progress, and additional thirty CEUs may be claimed on successful completion of the qualification;

   Prior approval by an accreditor necessary

   a. short courses with a minimum of 25 hours with additional clinical hands-on training, plus a formal assessment of the outcome – successful completion of an activity at this level will earn 30 CEUs; and

   b. short courses with less than 25 hours, with a measurable outcome (1 CEU per hour).

*such as private hospitals, private non-profit groups, commercial enterprises or companies that support health professionals through products or services

**Accredited service providers - Training institutions (Department/s, Discipline/s or Unit/s in the health and education public sector); Professional Associations (national, branch/es or committee/s)  and Formally constituted Professional Interest Groups (Affiliation with a professionally recognised institute, organisation and/or association and/or Branch/es or committee/s who have proven knowledge and skills in the relevant field and are in good standing in the group with a formally appointed Chairperson

Other Activities:

Guidelines for the latter two activities are available on the HPCSA website. Health practitioners will need to submit documentation/ portfolios to an accreditor to obtain the thirty CEUs for these activities.

a. learning portfolios; and

b. practice audit.

2. ACTIVITIES THAT DO NOT QUALIFY FOR CEUs

The following activities do not qualify for CEUs:

• time spent in planning, organising or facilitating any activity;
• published congress proceedings;
• non-referenced letters to the Editor of accredited journals;
• daily ward rounds;
• written assignments;
• compilation of student training manuals for internal use;
• staff and/ or administrative meetings;
• tours and/ or viewing of exhibits and technological demonstrations;
• membership of professional bodies, professional boards or associations;
• holding a portfolio on the professional body’s executive or council structure;
• presentations and publications to the public; and
• Mandatory Health and Safety Training at laboratories, which is part of the curriculum (specifically applies to Medical Technology).
• Meetings arranged by pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers or importers of products and technical devices (including assistive device technology) or their representatives purely for the purpose of marketing and/ or promoting their products are not eligible for accreditation. Activities for the purpose of training in the use of company products or technological devices may be presented by arrangement with an accreditor or accredited service provider.

For information about payment, please contact admin@saslha.co.za / call 0861 113 297. For more information about CPD rules, please consult the HPCSA or SASLHA websites.

CPD DOCUMENTATION