Radiology accreditation will be ‘a rigorous and testing process’
 The Radiology Accreditation Programme’s pilot site phase is undergoing a rigorous testing phase at five developmental sites.
Representatives from the sites – Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust, Plymouth Hospital NHS Trust, Medway Hospital NHS Trust, Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust and Alliance Medical’s Patient Management Centre, Stratford – met in April to launch the seven month developmental phase and to share their expectations with the programme’s working group.
“The accreditation programme will support the services to deliver better patient care, better patient experience, better information about radiology services and better value for money,” explained Stewart Whitley, who is SoR clinical lead on the working group.
“It will mean that the service is safe and committed to an action plan for continuous improvement.”
The intention is for the programme to cover all radiology and interventional services at primary, secondary and tertiary levels and to include both NHS and independent sector providers.
Its key objectives are:
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To ensure public safety and reduce risks of injury for both patients and staff;
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To support consistent quality of radiology service and encourage continuous improvements in performance;
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To improve public confidence in the quality of radiology services;
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To help services to demonstrate accountability to commissioners and the public.
Selected standards are being developed under four identified domain headings – safety, patient experience, clinical outcomes and resource and workforce improvement. “These standards will be tested by the pilot sites but we would like to encourage radiographers to comment so that we can be sure that they are understandable, relevant, challenging but achievable and comprehensive,” said Stewart.
To comment on the standards or for further information on the project’s development, visit the RAP website.
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