Niamh McNamara is the Quality Assurance (QA) Coordinator with our BowelScreen and Diabetic RetinaScreen programmes. Niamh tells us about her job, the variety in her work, and how she makes an impact through the continuous improvement of our screening programmes.
By Hannah Molloy, Communications Officer, National Screening Service
For Niamh McNamara, seeing the positive impact of her work on the quality of our screening offering has been an important part of the job satisfaction she feels as a Quality Assurance coordinator with the National Screening Service.
“Our whole organisation has a positive and supportive approach to quality assurance work,” she says. “It’s rewarding to see the evidence of our continuous improvement and to know the role you played in that, and how it will ultimately benefit people.”
Niamh joined our organisation in June 2020 when COVID-19 restrictions were at their peak. “This posed challenges in terms of getting to know my colleagues and my role while working remotely,” Niamh says, “but we were resilient and adaptable and open to new ways of working.”
Niamh says she was able to make the role her own and add value to the quality processes within the team. “I like the variety of work involved. There are quality elements to all our processes, so my input is sought on a wide range of projects and issues. While there are some tasks that I do on a regular basis, such as reporting on risks, incidents or complaints, issues can arise at any time. Ensuring these issues are managed and resolved appropriately is a priority, so I need to be flexible to deal with whatever comes across my desk each day.”
Niamh’s input has been key to our recent work to revise our Quality Assurance standards for BowelScreen and Diabetic RetinaScreen, in line with our new QA Standard Setting and Revision procedure. “I worked closely with our Clinical Advisory Groups over a 2-year period. This was a great learning experience for me,” Niamh says.
“I’m also part of the audit team that conducts service provider audits for our programmes. Being part of this auditing process and the monitoring of the quality of our screening programmes against the standards gives me great insights into what we’re doing well, and highlighting areas that might need improvement.”
Coming from a scientific background, Niamh says, has been helpful in her role. “There’s a lot of information you have to retain across multiple topics and attention to detail is key; quality in healthcare is fundamental to the safe delivery of patient care,” she says.
Niamh also has a close working relationship with our Quality, Safety and Risk (QSR) team. “I’m part of a shared learning forum organised by the QSR team where I meet with my QA counterparts in our other programmes. It’s a great benefit to be able to share insights across our work.”
Niamh says she is proud of our commitment to delivering a quality, evidence-based service with people at the centre of all we do. “I would absolutely recommend the QA role. I value my skilled and dedicated colleagues who are constantly looking at ways to improve our programmes. I’m pushing an open door to drive continuous improvement and ensure a positive screening experience for our participants.”
We’re recruiting for Quality Assurance Co-ordinators for our CervicalCheck, BowelScreen and Diabetic RetinaScreen programmes. Get all the details and apply now: