The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is to develop an international care standard for older people.

The move, which is part of ISO’s global programme of standards under the Ageing Societies umbrella, will consider people in all care settings and will be the eighth standard aimed at improving the quality of life for older people and their carers.

Paul Newman, chief executive of Greensleeves Care and founding chair of the UK Committee on Ageing Societies at the British Standards Institution, said: “We have campaigned for this standard since we formed the ISO Committee in 2017. The fact it received unanimous support from 26 nations around the globe demonstrates the effectiveness of the campaign and recognition of the shared global challenge so many societies face.

“To date, we have developed and published three global standards to improve the quality of life for older people, including age-inclusive workforce (ISO-25550), carer-inclusive organisations (ISO-25551), and dementia-inclusive communities (ISO-25552), plus four further standards already in development.

“I look forward to working with fellow technical experts from across the globe to combine our shared knowledge and experience to develop a standard that will deliver a step change in the quality of care older people receive.”

Once published, the ISO standard will allow care providers to evidence they deliver care in line with international best practice.