Invitation to all members to comment on the revised standard
The Royal New Zealand College of Urgent Care (RNZCUC) and the DAA Group invite you to review and comment on the Consultation Draft of the revised Urgent Care Standard.
The consultation draft is available here.
The current urgent care standard was published in 2015. Since that time, the health and disability sector has changed significantly, including increased demand for urgent and unplanned care, greater emphasis on equity and culturally safe care, strengthened expectations for clinical governance and risk management, and the introduction of Ngā Paerewa Health and Disability Services Standard NZS 8134:2021.
The purpose of this review is to ensure the Urgent Care Standard remains current, practical, and fit for purpose for services delivering urgent care in Aotearoa New Zealand. The revised draft seeks to retain the core intent of the 2015 standard while updating the content to reflect contemporary service delivery, patient safety, equity, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, workforce, governance, quality improvement, and consumer-focused requirements.
In developing the Consultation Draft, we have sought to align the content with Ngā Paerewa and with relevant international standards requirements, including ISQua expectations for standards development and external evaluation programmes. This alignment is intended to support consistency, credibility and practical application across urgent care services, while recognising the specific operating context of urgent care in New Zealand.
We now welcome feedback from individuals, services, professional groups, sector organisations, and other interested parties. Your comments will help ensure the final standard is clear, proportionate, evidence-informed, and useful for both service providers and assessors.
The consultation period will run from 24 June 2026 to 02 August 2026.
Feedback may be provided through either:
- A simple response form for general comments, or
- An online feedback tool that enables more detailed comment at each criterion level (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/UCS2026).
We encourage you to comment on areas where the draft works well, areas that may require clarification, and any requirements that may be difficult to interpret or implement in practice.
For further information about the consultation process, please contact:
Hope Greenslade – hope.greenslade@daagroup.co.nz
Thank you for taking the time to contribute to this important review. Your input will assist in ensuring the revised Urgent Care Standard supports safe, equitable, high-quality urgent care for people and whānau across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ngā mihi nui
| David Waters DAA Group | Adrian Metcalfe CEO RNZCUC |