West Midlands Breast Screening Programme

Team Visits

Rationale
The eligible population in the West Midlands is screened through nine breast screening services.

Breast Screening QA team visits are an integral part of breast screening quality assurance. The performance of a breast screening service is monitored in a variety of ways such as review of statistics, regional meetings or informal visits, all of which can offer a valuable insight into the activity of the unit. However, a formal QA team visit provides the only forum for a review of the whole screening process on a multi-disciplinary basis, and an assessment of the effectiveness of team working within the breast screening unit.

Objectives
The objectives of a Breast Screening QA team visit are:
To examine the performance of all aspects affecting the quality of the screening service at unit and professional level
To verify achievement of national standards and identify variance from these standards
To support professionals working in the programme to maintain and improve the standards of professional performance
To gain knowledge and expertise of best practice and disseminate this to all breast screening units in the region
To share experiences and understanding of current issues in breast screening

Report
A full report is issued to the Director of Breast Screening within 4 weeks of the QA team visit. The report contains recommendations made at the QA team visit and the timescales within which the service should implement these recommendations. The Breast Screening QA Reference Centre follows up each recommendation to ensure that it is completed within the required timescale.

Link to PDF of full NHSBSP Guidelines