The Department of Health is committed to providing the best quality care to patients and users of health services, in order to meet their expectations and needs, and to improve service delivery. The main purpose of the National Core Standards is to: • Develop a common definition of quality of care, which should be found in all health establishments in South Africa as a guide to the public and to managers and staff at all levels; • Establish a benchmark against which health establishments can be assessed, gaps identified, strengths appraised; and • Provide a national framework to certify health establishments as compliant with standards