PATIENT SAFETY
An increasing importance is being placed on the independent assessment of diagnostic imaging in the NHS. Raj Patel of the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) explains why.
T
he Imaging Services Accreditation Scheme (ISAS) is rapidly gaining
recognition as the quality implementation tool of choice within the diagnostic imaging community.
ISAS has the potential to drive fundamen- tal changes in service delivery by support- ing services to look critically at what they are doing and providing a robust frame- work within which they can identify and adopt new, innovative, more productive and cost effective ways of doing things that take account of patients’ wants and wishes. The service’s systems are then subjected to regular independent assessment and per- formance monitoring by both peers and lay assessors.
ISAS is jointly owned by The Royal College of Radiologists and the College of Radiographers. A college representative said: “Within the context of changes to commissioning of health care in England and continuing scrutiny of quality care in all parts of the UK, it is more than ever ap-
propriate that diagnostic imaging services are able to objectively demonstrate high standards of delivery.”
The first four services to be accredited against the ISAS Standard are already reaping the benefits.
Dr Jane Collins, chief executive of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust said: “ISAS has really made us refo- cus on the patient experience and to see our service through new eyes.”
Dr Graham Hoadley, National Clinical Lead for Service Improvement and con- sultant radiologist at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “ISAS demon- strates our strong commitment to giving our patients peace of mind when using our service.”
Dr Sanjiv Agarwal, chief executive of 4 Ways Healthcare Ltd, said: “ISAS provides us with service differentiation and a com- petitive edge, and we now have a high de-
gree of confidence that we will comply with all other regulatory requirements, includ- ing the Care Quality Commissions registra- tion requirements.”
Peter Sharpe, chief executive of the Cobalt Unit Appeal Fund said: “ISAS has helped us to better understand our business lead- ing to more efficient utilisation of resourc- es. It has also enabled patients and users to have a greater influence in development of the service.”
Accreditation by UKAS demonstrates the competence and performance capability of the accredited service and its commit- ment to continuous improvements – giving confidence and trust to patients, commis- sioners, senior managers and staff. UKAS through Clinical Pathology Accreditation (CPA) already accredits 1,250 NHS medical and pathology laboratories.
FOR MORE INFORMATION E:
imagingcustomerservice@ukas.com W:
www.isas-uk.org
national health executive Mar/Apr 11 | 49
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