The APCB (Braga Cerebral Palsy Association) is an accredited non-profit Social Solidarity institution, both founded by a later made independent of the Braga Regional Centre of the Portuguese Cerebral Palsy Association as of June 27th 1986 with the aim of the care, habilitation, participation, social inclusion and provision of family support for persons with Cerebral Palsy and related neurological conditions located in the geographical area of the districts of Greater Braga.
Throughout its history the APCB has sought to develop and improve the services on offer to its clientele in an ongoing manner, in line with other economic Third Sector bodies seeking excellence in service provision. The implementation of a Quality Management System has brought with it a clearer sense of the rigor employed by the APCB in its activities and provision of client service, utilizing systematic monitoring of its work and evaluating the end result of services and organizational policies on clients, associates, collaborators, financial entities, partners and other concerned parties.
The systematization of the added value by the APCB services through its Quality Management System has allowed it to realize in a clearer and more organized manner the development of services, client satisfaction and that of other interested parties, as well as quantifying in a tangible manner certain treatment outcomes which had proved difficult to capture and evidence in the past. The tangibility of said produced results has allowed clients to comprehend their own evolution, what needs reinforcing, taking into account both motivation and capacity as vital factors with regard to the difficulties that persons with deficiency and their families need to overcome at certain times.
Above and beyond these concerns the transparency of policies and institutional aims, reinforced with the Quality Management System implementation and certification, form part of an unwavering commitment to improving the services on offer. The APCB is aware that its passage into the present day has allowed it to find itself in a better position than it was in the past, but without doubt, not as good as it will be in the future, placing a great deal of hope in this regard with social organizations, associates and collaborators, with a view to providing an ever improved service and one of high regard for persons with Cerebral Palsy and related neurological conditions.
The current Quality Policy is an undertaking made by the APCB’s Management, envisaging its own organization as an institution striving to provide excellence with all its services. The following points undertake to outline the APCB’s mission, vision and values and what constitutes the fundamental value creation process that the APCB seeks to offer its clients and society in general.
Mission
In the ongoing evolution of its mission, the APCB freely undertakes to continually improve its services and administration for the benefit of its clients, collaborators, financing bodies, partners, community and other concerned parties, with a vision to its goal of:
The policies and initiatives undertaken by the APCB in the realization of its goals guide it in the application of its organizational values, a responsibility shared with other social bodies, associates, collaborators and volunteers, all of whom are placed in the service of the APCB’s clients and also contributing to improvements with interested parties and the community. The values of the APCB are transversal to all the policies of the organization and are present in all processes and quality procedures:
Management by processes is a criterion envisaged from the start with the embracing of EQUASS Assurance’s written statements and undertakes a fundamental role in the compliance, maintenance and mensuration of organizational and orienteering execution with the task of satisfying each and every client. The APCB is preparing the application for the EQUASS Assurance’s certification. The APCB expects that all of its institutional partners demonstrate their alignment with APCB’s Quality Management System so that the provision of quality service to all clients is assured.
The APCB’s culture of engagement is promoted with all collaborators, through a process of encouraging sensitivity regarding quality concerns, so that all measures directed towards improving the system are of an ever increasingly preventative and predictive nature regarding the needs of all clients. This orientation is handled through close and individualized management alongside every collaborator, equipping them with the ability and tools required to implement the institution’s policies, principles and procedures. Improvement is constantly sought through self-generating challenges that seek to bring the knowledge and skills required to confront ongoing changes and insecurities in a constantly evolving environment, so as to ensure that the rights and needs of APCB clients are fulfilled. The maintenance and evaluation of the APCB’s Quality Management System is fulfilled using the evaluation methodologies provided, on an internal level, by the APCB’s Quality Control bodies and in partnership with outside auditors at the external level.
The APCB’s Quality Management System is also made up of quality certification proceedings whose contents seek to spread awareness and experience based knowledge gathered over the years throughout the institution, by promoting patterns of behavior and action that guarantee quality in services on offer to clients, as well as other related interactions with other parties concerned with the APCB. The Management, using the Quality Management System ongoing cycle of presumed continuous improvement, guarantees the efficacy and efficiency of its systems, measuring improvement and promoting a culture of seeking ongoing development in how activity is delineated, implemented, monitored and streamlined. In conclusion, the APCB’s Quality Management System also comprises of a management mechanism for legal proceedings, which applies all along the organizational structure in regard to services on offer, in which responsibilities are defined for each procedure, process, through management and support services.
Throughout its history the APCB has sought to develop and improve the services on offer to its clientele in an ongoing manner, in line with other economic Third Sector bodies seeking excellence in service provision. The implementation of a Quality Management System has brought with it a clearer sense of the rigor employed by the APCB in its activities and provision of client service, utilizing systematic monitoring of its work and evaluating the end result of services and organizational policies on clients, associates, collaborators, financial entities, partners and other concerned parties.
Above and beyond these concerns the transparency of policies and institutional aims, reinforced with the Quality Management System implementation and certification, form part of an unwavering commitment to improving the services on offer. The APCB is aware that its passage into the present day has allowed it to find itself in a better position than it was in the past, but without doubt, not as good as it will be in the future, placing a great deal of hope in this regard with social organizations, associates and collaborators, with a view to providing an ever improved service and one of high regard for persons with Cerebral Palsy and related neurological conditions.
The current Quality Policy is an undertaking made by the APCB’s Management, envisaging its own organization as an institution striving to provide excellence with all its services. The following points undertake to outline the APCB’s mission, vision and values and what constitutes the fundamental value creation process that the APCB seeks to offer its clients and society in general.
Providing integrated and innovative services for and with people with Cerebral Palsy and related neurological and conditions, provinding equal opportunities.Vision
In the ongoing evolution of its mission, the APCB freely undertakes to continually improve its services and administration for the benefit of its clients, collaborators, financing bodies, partners, community and other concerned parties, with a vision to its goal of:
Being a reference organization for the value it generates for its customers and other stakeholders, building with people with Cerebral Palsy and related neurological situations and their significant ones a more informed, inclusive and evolved societyValues
The policies and initiatives undertaken by the APCB in the realization of its goals guide it in the application of its organizational values, a responsibility shared with other social bodies, associates, collaborators and volunteers, all of whom are placed in the service of the APCB’s clients and also contributing to improvements with interested parties and the community. The values of the APCB are transversal to all the policies of the organization and are present in all processes and quality procedures:
- Accountability
- Continuous learning
- Reliance
- Human rights
- Financial stability
- Excelence
- Making the difference
- Innovation
- Integrity
- Ownership
- Clients satisfaction
- Teamwork
- Transparency
Administration's Commitment
The APCB’s commitment to the highest standards involves the adoption of a quality related culture resting on the (4) following pillars:
The APCB’s commitment to the highest standards involves the adoption of a quality related culture resting on the (4) following pillars:
- Developing and providing efficacious services (able to achieve goals set by clients) that are also efficient (meeting targets using the best possible usage of resources);
- Complying with and enforcing relevant laws, national and international standards that are applicable to the institution, advocating for the rights and interests of clients and significant others;
- Embracing the challenge of seeking permanent enhancement of the APCB’s quality management and weeding out inconsistent elements in services provided through the revision of results and objectives achieved;
- Encouraging participation and the adoption of a commitment for APCB’s quality policy with all collaborators and third parties with procedures, arrangements, training, supervision and effective communication.
Quality objetives
The APCB understands that quality results are achieved when client needs are fully met in all their scope, through the optimized use of available resources used in partnership with social services and the wider community. The rights to participatory and equal citizenship of the APCB’s clients is the institution’s main field of action and it undertakes to promote the aptitude, health and well-being when setting its targets in accord with their needs and while also promoting self-expression.
The APCB has been recognized by its clients and the wider community as an institution of note in its branch of activity, having been awarded a regional award in 2012 (an initiative for appreciating persons and institutions within Braga) in the category of social services institutions. This trust merits an ever greater dedication to quality concerns with services on offer and with strictness in the sustainable utilization of available resources. The responsibility society entrusts is part of every moment of the APCB’s life, be it through the handling and respect on offer to our clients and their significant others or be it through how the equipment and resources available are maintained and utilized in a sustainable manner. Each APCB collaborator is involved in the reaching for quality targets so as to offer clients the highest possible service levels through the APCB’s Quality Management System.
Providing value added service its clients, in an efficacious and efficient manner, is managed through sharing a vision of quality in support of the following goals:
Providing value added service its clients, in an efficacious and efficient manner, is managed through sharing a vision of quality in support of the following goals:
- Guaranteeing individual development for each client with regard to motor, cognitive, emotional and social skills as well as autonomy and participation, respecting internal policy, principles and quality procedures in an open and transparent manner;
- Ensuring trust and service sustainability through complete customer satisfaction, seeking to meet their needs with services and activities which either match requirements or exceed expectations;
- Striving after efficacy and optimum efficiency through the continuous search for improvements in service provided and treatments on offer, maximizing usage of resources and cutting down wastage;
- Promoting the involvement of all parties in the process of adding value to the APCB in the creation of the APCB’s culture of Quality.
The APCB's Quality Management System
The APCB’s Quality Policy is applied to all social responses and initiatives developed by the organization, being complemented by other individualized organizational policies:- Charter of Rights
- Ethical Policy
- Code of Ethics
- Human Resources Policy
- Active Involvement Policy
- Abuse Prevention Policy
- Health and Safety Policy
- Confidentiality Policy
Management by processes is a criterion envisaged from the start with the embracing of EQUASS Assurance’s written statements and undertakes a fundamental role in the compliance, maintenance and mensuration of organizational and orienteering execution with the task of satisfying each and every client. The APCB is preparing the application for the EQUASS Assurance’s certification. The APCB expects that all of its institutional partners demonstrate their alignment with APCB’s Quality Management System so that the provision of quality service to all clients is assured.
The APCB’s culture of engagement is promoted with all collaborators, through a process of encouraging sensitivity regarding quality concerns, so that all measures directed towards improving the system are of an ever increasingly preventative and predictive nature regarding the needs of all clients. This orientation is handled through close and individualized management alongside every collaborator, equipping them with the ability and tools required to implement the institution’s policies, principles and procedures. Improvement is constantly sought through self-generating challenges that seek to bring the knowledge and skills required to confront ongoing changes and insecurities in a constantly evolving environment, so as to ensure that the rights and needs of APCB clients are fulfilled. The maintenance and evaluation of the APCB’s Quality Management System is fulfilled using the evaluation methodologies provided, on an internal level, by the APCB’s Quality Control bodies and in partnership with outside auditors at the external level.
Quality of services is sought with confidence in a proactive fashion throughout the organization. Each and every concerned party with the APCB has the ability to contribute with ongoing improvement, exerting a positive influence on everybody else with exemplary behavior in line with the organization’s core values, supporting it with a show of team spirit, enthusiasm and in the privilege of contributing to the noble mission the APCB has undertaken.
United we can do more!
Luís Gonçalves
Chairman of the Board
Chairman of the Board
Sources
Images: APCB thanks all its clients, families and workers for kindly allowing their personal image usage for the illustration of the services provided by the organization.