Quality Standard for Imaging (QSI)
QSI is a developmental standard and underpins the colleges’ vision that all providers of imaging services be invested in a continuous quality improvement journey. QSI allows services to evaluate their performance and develop where needed to continually improve patient experience and outcomes.
QSI represents the judgements of panels of lay representatives, radiographers, radiologists, medical physicists, and sonographers who have overseen its creation and revision. It reflects wide consultation and valuable comments and suggestions received from professional colleagues, relevant UK government agencies and professional and regulatory bodies.
QSI sets out best practice to improve patient care and outcomes. Accreditation against the standard has been and will continue to be the hallmark of a quality imaging service. Clinical practice is a continually evolving field, and the QSI will be independently reviewed every four years.
Here are some of the benefits that QSI can bring to your service:
Recognised quality indicator for imaging services
Compliance with regulation and guidance
Networking opportunities and sharing good practice with other imaging services
Framework for delivering high quality and patient focused care
Supports building teamwork and collaboration across the whole department
High level of service user satisfaction and confidence
Improves and assures efficiency and validity of services
Independent recognition ‘badge of quality’
Enables continuous quality improvement
Offers assurance of the service – both internally and externally
Improved staff retention and recruitment
Potential market advantage.
Recognised quality indicator for imaging services
Compliance with regulation and guidance
Networking opportunities and sharing good practice with other imaging services
Framework for delivering high quality and patient focused care
Supports building teamwork and collaboration across the whole department
High level of service user satisfaction and confidence
Improves and assures efficiency and validity of services
Independent recognition ‘badge of quality’
Enables continuous quality improvement
Offers assurance of the service – both internally and externally
Improved staff retention and recruitment
Potential market advantage.
Accreditation
The College of Radiographers and the Royal College of Radiologists have agreed with UKAS that our agreement with them will come to an end in June 2024. It is important to note that this termination does not affect the UKAS accreditation of existing or applicant imaging providers.
As Colleges, we are committed to delivering the best service we can to diagnostic radiology services and are taking this opportunity to develop new arrangements for services to be endorsed against the Quality Standard for Imaging. We will work closely with services to co-produce our new scheme to ensure that it reflects their needs, helps us to better understand the issues they are facing on the ground, and enables us as Colleges to continue to provide support where services need it most. We’re excited to share our plans over the coming months. We will work closely with all services to develop the new arrangements and acknowledge the significant work that colleagues have already put into quality improvement.
We thank UKAS for working with the Colleges and look forward to a continued constructive working relationship with them as we develop the new arrangements.
Stage 0.
Start the conversation
You want to find out more about the QSI process. Services can informally start working on the QSI
Stage 1.
Start the process
You apply for a business case for QSI staff and, if possible, accreditation costs.
Stage 2.
Gap analysis and dedicated staff
You are working through the initial stages of a gap analysis.
Stage 3.
Service development
In the service development phase, you will create action plans, policies and procedures to meet the standard.
Stage 4.
Apply for accreditation
You apply for accreditation or have a rolling QSI quality programme.
Stage 5.
Accreditation and continuous quality improvement
Accreditation and continuous quality improvement: You have been successfully accredited and have adopted a continuous cycle of quality improvement.
FAQs
The Colleges are continually developing a range of supporting resources such as guidance and best practice documents and using these documents will support services in achieving accreditation.
The Quality Improvement Partners (QIP’s) are available by email, phone or to visit your department where appropriate. Online resources, including the standard and development and support tool, can be found here or at CoR QSI
Further resources and support are available on the FutureNHS QSI platform along with information on our regular monthly meetings and dates for training/networking days
If you would like to become a member of the FutureNHS QSI group or join our monthly meetings, contact the QIP’s at QSI@rcr.ac.uk
Yes – and to NHS, commercial and not for profit imaging services in any of the four UK countries. The notes for each standard contain the appropriate relevant information for all four countries.
Yes. The QSI enables services to develop quality improvement building on their existing evidence base. By working through the standard, you can be assured that the entire evidence healthcare regulators require will be easily available within your quality management system and a quality culture is embedded across your service.
The CQC and devolved nation equivalents (RQIA, HIW, HIS) provide regulation for services via rules and guidance which must be followed as a legal requirement. The QSI considers quality with specific reference to imaging services. Imaging services are obliged to meet their legal obligations via the CQC and other healthcare regulators. In meeting the QSI you will have approval from a professional body that you have met an external standard that exceeds the baseline requirements of regulators and embeds the culture of quality improvement within your team.
The full list of accredited services can be found on the UKAS website.
Helping you reach your goals – support for the QSI
The Colleges are continually developing a range of supporting resources such as guidance and best practice documents and using these documents will support services in achieving accreditation. Ongoing colleges support is available via the QIP’s and other college staff.
Quality Improvement Partner
The Quality Improvement Partners (QIP’s) are available by email, phone or to visit your department where appropriate to provide advice and to support you through the QSI process
Development and Support tool
The development and support tool has been designed to help services assess themselves against the QSI and provides examples of evidence required to meet the standard.
Online network
Further resources, advice and support are available through the FutureNHS QSI platform along with information on our regular monthly meetings and dates for training/networking days.
QSI monthly meetings
Regular QSI meetings covering a range of topics, including ultrasound QA, IR(ME)R and more
Introduction to QSI
This presentation is to provide support to services and leads who are just starting their QSI journey. It includes presentations from the QIPs and experienced QSI leads and is designed to help you identify your next steps.
If you would like more information or to join any of these sessions, please email QSI@rcr.ac.uk
Alongside these resources, there is a range of templates and guides that services may find helpful and can be used as a guide:
The Quality Standards for Imaging networks
With the national direction of developing imaging networks across the UK, The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) and The College of Radiographers (CoR) have been working to develop the Quality Standard for Imaging Networks (QSIN). The QSIN is written to stand alone; and emerging or nascent networks can use it to help develop their governance and quality improvement processes.
Our services
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