Hospital's Imaging department accredited

The Imaging Department at Derriford Hospital has been re-accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) against the Imaging Services Accreditation Scheme (ISAS) Standard.

ISAS is a patient focused assessment and accreditation programme that is designed to help diagnostic imaging services ensure patients consistently receive a high quality service, delivered by competent staff working in a safe environment.

It is the only nationally recognised accreditation scheme available for diagnostic imaging services in the UK. The scheme provides a consistent standard, against which Trusts are assessed annually, to ensure a high quality service is being provided at all times.

Mark Walker, Radiology Manager at Derriford Hospital, said: “Derriford’s Radiology Department has been accredited for the last four years. Nationally, there are 19 accredited sites, 13 of which are foundation trusts and only six are hospital trusts.

“Accreditation provides reassurance to our patients, commissioners and clinicians that we provide high quality and safe imaging examinations that are cost effective and efficient.”

Derriford’s Imaging Department was one of the first in the UK to participate in the Imaging Services Accreditation Scheme and was successful in 2012, becoming one of the first six NHS hospitals in the UK to receive ISAS accreditation.

Dr Simon Freeman, Clinical Director for Radiology in Imaging during the time of the initial accreditation in 2012, said: “As the Clinical Director of Imaging at the time of our accreditation, it has been a great pleasure and source of pride for me to see the department gain this accolade. The whole department worked together to complete the submission and facilitate the inspections.

“Many staff members worked tirelessly over several years to complete the task and have continued to do so to sustain accreditation status. It is a worthy tribute to the tenacity, hard work, professionalism, clinical excellence and compassion of the imaging team members that this award has been achieved and maintained. Accreditation status gives us confidence in the quality and safety of the work that we do.”

Mark added: “As a service, we are extremely proud of what we do for our patients. The whole ethos of this department is built around patient safety and ensuring we please our patients. Our ISAS accreditation is confirmation that we consistently achieve a high standard.”