18.10.11
New allergy registration scheme to improve services
A new project has been launched to improve the quality of NHS specialist allergy services, by a committee of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath).
Improving Quality in Allergy Services is a registration scheme for adult services to ensure they meet quality standards, and will be run by the RCP Accreditation Unit.
The scheme follows a recommendation in the 2010/11 RCP/RCPath report ‘Still not meeting the unmet need’ to introduce service accreditation standards.
The quality standards are based on those set out in the allergy chapter of the blueprint for medical services in hospitals ‘Consultant physicians working with patients’ recently published by the RCP, as well as expert opinion from allergy specialists. The standards will be reviewed on a regular basis.
Professor Andy Wardlaw, chair of the RCP/RCPath joint committee on immunology and allergy, who is guiding the scheme, welcomed its creation.
He said: “This registration scheme is an important step on the road to making sure that adult, NHS based allergy services are adhering to an agreed set of standards based on guidelines and expert opinion.
“It will be a tool for use in revalidation, helpful for commissioners and patients in provision of high quality allergy services in their area and a lever to improve the range and quality of services over time. We strongly urge all those providing allergy services to register with the scheme as soon as possible.”
To register with the scheme, visit: www.rcplondon.ac.uk/resources/improving-quality-allergy-services-iqas-registration-scheme
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