Accreditation guidance for UK screening labs:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Health Services Accreditation, the UK National Health Service body set up last year after a series of cervical smear errors in which at least eight women died, has issued safety and quality control indicators for cervical cytology services. The standards are to make sure that the government's demand that all cervical screening laboratories have external accreditation by the middle of this year is fulfilled. The standards include definitions of smear inadequacy, rapid rescreening measures and failsafe recall systems. Guidance will also be issued on how each standard can be achieved.