By Niall Phelan, Medical Physicist, BreastCheck Programme
A team of experts from the National Screening Service (NSS) BreastCheck programme have been appointed to the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer (ECIBC) following an open public call for membership in 2015.
The commission was established to address substantial and persistent inequalities in breast cancer prevalence, mortality and survival existing within and between EU member states. The aim of the project is to improve and harmonise breast cancer care in Europe.
The work of the commission is supported by two working groups composed of medical doctors, epidemiologists, researchers and patient representatives involved in all aspects of breast cancer and screening, as follows:
- The Guidelines Development Group considers the most up-to-date scientific evidence to establish guidelines for breast screening, diagnosis and treatment.
- The Quality Assurance Scheme Development Group is developing requirements to support breast cancer services with improving the quality of care and outcomes, while taking into account patient experience and satisfaction.
Fundamental to both groups was a central consideration of the patient and their entire journey through screening, diagnosis and treatment.
To date, the Guidelines Development Group has published a variety of guidelines which include recommendations and good practice statements intended to improve patient care. They are presented in a question-and-answer format on topics such as: organising breast screening programmes; screening ages and frequencies; inviting and informing women about screening; the use of artificial intelligence (AI); and informing women about their results.
The quality assurance (QA) group has defined a common set of both quality and safety requirements for breast cancer services looking to improve the quality of care offered to women. The group has developed quality assurance manuals for breast cancer services and for certification bodies which will audit the services. The feasibility of the QA scheme has now been established in a number of breast cancer services across seven member states through pilot certification projects. Additional learnings following the pilots are being incorporated into the manuals prior to release of the final documents and formal initiation of the scheme.
While accreditation and certification is voluntary, it is anticipated that the quality assurance scheme will encourage performance measurement according to defined standards, support quality improvement generally and improve harmonisation. This will ultimately reduce inequalities in individual experience and outcomes for women.
NSS representatives appointed to the ECIBC: Prof Patricia Fitzpatrick, Epidemiologist, and Prof Cecily Quinn, Histopathologist, were appointed to the Guidelines Development Group. Mr Niall Phelan, Medical Physicist, was appointed to the Quality Assurance Scheme Development Group.