ABSTRACT
National Coordination Team with advice from national coordinating groups for each of the professions involved in the NHSBSP. These are published by the NHSBSP in a series of guidelines which are regularly reviewed and updated (5-12) and can be downloaded from the NHS Cancer Screening website (www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk). At regional level, the cornerstones of the QA service are the QA teams and the analytical and administrative support staff in the Quality Assurance Reference Centres (QARCs). Each regional QA team is composed of professional QA coordinators for each of the areas covered by the screening program and is led by a Regional Director of Breast Screening Quality Assurance who is currently directly accountable to the Regional Director of Public Health (13). The areas covered by the professional QA coordinators include screening offi ce management (in the screening unit and at the primary care trust (PCT) where call/recall registers are usually held), radiography, medical physics, radiology, pathology, surgery, and breast care nursing. Each QA coordinator is nominated by their peers and is formally appointed to their role. Service level agreements with the QARC specify the service that will be provided in return for payments received by the QA coordinators’ employers. The regional QA coordinators meet regularly with their professional counterparts at the national level and with their professional colleagues at regional level, forming an important communication channel between the NHSBSP’s National Offi ce and local professionals.
