West Midlands Cervical Screening Programme

Cervical Screening QA Reference Centre

The main function of the Cervical Screening QA Reference Centre is to monitor the performance of local cervical screening programmes, PCTs, laboratories, colposcopy clinics and GU Medicine services which participate in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. This is achieved through the collection and analysis of mandatory data required by the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre and other data required to oversee the local programme. These data are reviewed against a number of national performance standards. In addition to data collation, the QA Reference Centre also carries out a 3 year rolling programme of formal quality assurance team visits to all organisations providing cervical screening services.

Other QA Reference Centre activities include regional colposcopy patient satisfaction surveys, quality audits, assistance during changes to existing services, production of regional policies and guidance and provision of support and advice to local screening services.

The QA Reference Centre administers the West Midlands External Quality Assurance (EQA) scheme for gynaecological cytology which is mandatory for all laboratory staff reporting cervical screening samples and the West Midlands technical EQA scheme which assesses the technical quality of cervical screening samples prepared in the laboratory. In addition, a number of study days and workshops are organised each year for professional staff working within the Cervical Screening Programme in the West Midlands.