Quality Statement
The department maintains a Quality Management System which covers the organisation, resources and evaluation of Quality Assurance activities required to ensure that the Quality of results given to our users meets their requirements.
The philosophy of the department is to foster a continual improvement ethos and promote a “getting it right first time every time” mentality.
The integration of policies/procedures to control the processes and the monitoring of the overall results using Quality Control/Audit ensures that the results we give our users are of a very high standard. The department is accredited to ISO15189:2012 (Accreditation Reference Number 9133) and ISO22870:2016 and currently working towards ISO15189:2022; our full scope of accreditation is published on the UKAS website.
The Blood Transfusion department is also monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulation Agency (MHRA) and is fully compliant with the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations laid down by the government to monitor the safety of Blood in the UK.
The Bowel Cancer and Cervical screening services are monitored by Screening Quality Assurance Service (SQAS) who asses the departments compliance with minimum standards for each discipline and interrelationships within the whole programme. They also promote good practice and identify areas for improvement and making recommendations to achieve this.
The department assesses user satisfaction by conducting an annual user survey, with the feedback going into the service plan for the next year. It also asks the users about the reliability of the interpretative reports sent out by the department. Turnaround Times of the Key assays within each department are constantly being measured and are an excellent method for evaluating and monitoring the Pre-examination, Examination and Post examination processes. This reflects the timeliness of the results being given to the patients and shows how the department is impacting on the clinical decision making, patient safety and operational efficiency.
All complaints are monitored and discussed at departmental Quality meetings and our users comments are recorded and acted upon. Any suggestions, complaints or compliments please : mailto:ghnt.pathology.user@nhs.net
South of Tyne & Wear Pathology Centre
