A formal Quality Management System has been established over the last two years by the Haematology/Oncology Quality Manager and this continues to develop. This provides a mechanism to ensure that procedures are being carried out in line with agreed standards. Such a system is essential to ensure that the unit operates with the highest standards of technical and clinical practice. This is a key requirement for Human Tissue Authority (HTA) licensing and Joint Accreditation Committee of the International Society of Cellular Therapy & European Society for Blood and and Marrow transplantation (JACIE) accreditation and is being embedded into the department.
The quality management system is a means of evaluating current practice against national and international standards through comprehensive audit, validation of processes, identifying errors, analysing them and implementing corrective actions and improvement to prevent recurrence. The system also helps identify training and development needs and ensures competencies are up-to-date. A catalogue of policies and procedures standardises all elements of the department, ultimately maximising care and providing the best standard of care for patients.
Every fortnight key members of the Haematology team meet to discuss quality issues such as maintenance of JACIE accreditation, ongoing matters, untoward incidents and corrective actions, audits, risk assessment, policies/procedures and any other matters.