This guidance will be used by inspectors alongside the assessment-judgment framework, a tool developed by HIQA to assess compliance with regulations and standards.

The purpose of the assessment judgment framework is to support inspectors in gathering evidence when monitoring or assessing a centre and to make judgments on compliance. The framework sets out the lines of inquiry to be explored by inspectors in order to assess compliance with the standards and or regulations being monitored or assessed. It also outlines the compliance descriptors of:

• Compliant: a judgment of compliant means that no action is required as the service or centre has fully met the standard and is in full compliance with the relevant regulation, if appropriate.
• Substantially compliant: a judgment of substantially compliant means that some action is required by the service or centre to fully meet a standard or to comply with a regulation, if appropriate.
• Non-Compliant: a judgment of non-compliant means that substantive action is required by the service or centre to fully meet a standard or to comply with a regulation, if appropriate.