We recently took part in an inspection by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) at our BreastCheck Eccles Unit in Dublin. The inspection checked that we are keeping people safe during screening by using radiation carefully and at the lowest dose possible.
HIQA has published its inspection report. It found that our Eccles Unit meets the high standards set out in the European regulations governing the use of radiation in healthcare. This means that everyone attending our services can be assured that their care is safe and effective.
All healthcare providers who use radiation, including BreastCheck, are required to meet European radiation standards. They make sure that:
- we only use radiation when necessary
- we keep the amount we use as low as possible
- we always protect our participants from unnecessary radiation risk.
The HIQA team inspected our Eccles BreastCheck unit in Dublin in October 2025 to check that we are following these safety standards.
As part of the inspection, HIQA:
- spoke with our staff to understand how we plan, deliver and monitor our breast screening service
- observed how we work
- reviewed our documents and records to make sure we are recording the correct information, and that it reflects the care we are providing.
HIQA used this information to build up a picture of how we are delivering our service in practice.
The European regulations that we must follow focus on two main areas:
- How we oversee and manage the safe use of radiation
- How we ensure how we deliver radiation is safe.
How we oversee and manage the safe use of radiation
The HIQA team said they were assured that we appropriately manage and oversee our deliver of radiation for women. They tested us against 6 regulations. They reported that we are ‘compliant’ with 5 of the regulations and ‘substantially compliant’ with the 6th regulation. They found that:
- we have effective governance, leadership and management to protect people having ionising radiation
- our systems and processes for referring women for radiation are strong
- people are being referred by our clinically responsible staff
- Our medical physics team contribute to all aspects of our breast screening service
- Our medical physics team give advice on our radiology equipment, and track and measure the amount of radiation each woman is exposed to.
HIQA advised us to strengthen our documentation so it’s always clear who on our clinical team is responsible for keeping women safe from radiation during screening.
How we ensure how we deliver radiation is safe
The HIQA team said that our BreastCheck Eccles unit was committed to keeping radiation doses as low as possible. They said we had the right systems in place to support the “consistent, safe delivery” of radiation to women during breast screening. They tested us against 6 regulations in this area. They found us to be ‘compliant’ with 4 regulations and ‘substantially compliant’ with the other 2 regulations.
The HIQA team found that:
- we have the correct systems and processes in place to keep women safe during breast screening
- BreastCheck is externally accredited at the highest level by EUREF, the European body that oversees quality assurance in breast screening.
- our QA processes are strong
- our radiation safety training ensures that women are receiving the lowest dose of radiation possible during breast screening
- We have a strong process in place to review and address any accidental or unintended radiation exposure, and to learn from any significant events.
The HIQA team advised us to better align our clinical audit practices with their national processes. They also recommended that we review our record keeping to ensure we always record who is the clinician justifying women’s exposure to radiation.
We are now working on the HIQA recommendations to further strengthen the quality of our service.