Screening quality assurance visit report – Royal University Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust Cervical Screening Programme

NHS Cervical Screening Programme
12 September 2024

Covered by this report?If ‘no’, where you can find information about this part of the pathway
Underpinning functions
Uptake and coverageYesNot applicable
WorkforceYesNot applicable
IT and equipmentYesNot applicable
CommissioningPartlyNHS England South West of England Collaborative Commissioning Hub Team
Leadership and governanceYesNot applicable
Pathway
Cohort identificationNoCervical Screening Administration Service
Invitation and informationNoCervical Screening Administration Service
Testing and resultsNoSevern Pathology, North Bristol NHS Trust
ReferralNoSevern Pathology, North Bristol NHS Trust
Sample taker registerYesSevern Pathology, North Bristol NHS Trust
DiagnosisNoRoyal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust Histopathology Service
Intervention/ treatmentYesNot applicable

Summary

The NHS Cervical Screening Programme invites women between the ages of 25 and 64 for regular cervical screening. This aims to detect abnormalities within the cervix that could, if undetected and untreated, develop into cervical cancer.

The findings in this report relate to the quality assurance visit on 12 September 2024 to Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust (RUHB) Cervical Screening Service which is commissioned by NHS England South West of England Collaborative Commissioning Hub Team.

The Cervical Histopathology Service at RUHB is out of scope for this QA visit but is part of the overall cervical screening service provided. Any commissioning findings are outside the scope of this report and will be followed up directly with the commissioner.

Quality assurance purpose and approach

Quality assurance (QA) aims to achieve and maintain national standards, promote continuous improvement in cervical screening and support reducing health inequalities.

This is to ensure that all eligible people have access to a consistent, high quality, effective, equitable and safe service wherever they live.

QA visits are conducted by the NHS England Screening Quality Assurance Service (SQAS).

The evidence for this report comes from the following sources:

  • monitoring of routine data collected by NHS England
  • data and reports from external organisations
  • evidence submitted by the provider and external organisations
  • discussion with commissioner in advance of the visit
  • information collected during the pre-visit meeting with the Cervical Screening Programme Lead of RUHB on 20 August 2024
  • information shared with the SQAS as part of the visit process

The screening service

RUHB provides NHS cervical screening services to the population covered by the NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care System.

The service is overseen by NHS England South West with support from the South West of England Vaccinations and Screening Team.

RUHB provides colposcopy and cervical histopathology from the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

Severn Pathology, North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) provides the human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and cytology service.

Findings

Since the last QA visit to this service in 2019, HPV primary screening has been implemented, the COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruption and there have been changes in the service’s key administration roles.

The service has coped reasonably well with these challenges but has not been able to consistently maintain colposcopy waiting time standards.

Many of the recommendations made within this report are to complete work of standardisation that has already started, for example, appointment of permanent administration staff.

Action is required to ensure there is sufficient clinic support and capacity to meet demand and sustain waiting time performance over the long term.

Restrictions in IT systems have led to manual processes to track patient referrals and inappropriate allocation of results to consultants not involved in the patient’s colposcopy care.

These issues raise the potential that referrals and results may be overlooked resulting in patients not being followed up.

Governance meetings and reporting for cervical screening are in place but do not entirely fulfil all the requirements of national guidance. Colposcopy clinic and individual clinician performance data do not meet the performance requirements of all national standards.

The trust does not have a specific strategy to support reductions in health inequalities but is actively undertaking work in a number of areas that will contribute to reducing inequality and increasing accessibility.

Immediate concerns

The QA visit team identified no immediate concerns.

Urgent recommendations

The QA visit team identified one urgent recommendation. A letter was sent to the cervical screening provider lead on 16 September 2024 asking that the following item(s) is addressed:

  • undertake a colposcopy administration pathway process map to reduce reliance on manual processes for referral management and histopathology results

A response including an action plan was received informing the visiting QA team of the steps taken to partially resolve the urgent recommendation(s).

High priority findings

The QA visit team identified 9 high priority findings as summarised below:

  • cervical screening management meetings and colposcopy operational meetings do not have appropriate terms of reference, attendance or agenda meaning risks and issues may not be identified
  • limited understanding of cervical screening risk management and screening incident reporting
  • colposcopy clinics are not always appropriately staffed by at least 2 support nurses
  • no evidence of standard operating procedures for colposcopy administrative processes or colposcopy clinic arrangements
  • data is not always validated or recorded accurately
  • waiting time standards for appointments and treatments and individual clinician standards are not routinely met

Examples of practice that can be shared

The QA visit team identified several areas of practice for sharing, including:

  • ‘In house’ colposcopy information videos available via the trust website, including a walkthrough video for people with learning disability, autism, or mental health needs
  • clear flowchart showing how to manage the rare situation of a patient who has collapsed in the colposcopy clinic

Recommendations

The following recommendations are for the provider to action unless otherwise stated.

No.RecommendationPathway themeReferenceTimescalePriorityEvidence required
Urgent recommendations
01Undertake a colposcopy administration pathway process map to reduce reliance on manual processes.Intervention and outcome – colposcopy128 daysUrgentAction plan including how risks will be minimised for referral management and histopathology results issued with timelines for resolution within 3 months
No.RecommendationReferenceTimescalePriorityEvidence required
Governance and leadership
02Develop an action plan, in collaboration with commissioners, to reduce screening inequalities in underserved and protected population groups 1,2,312 monthsStandardAction plan
03Ensure the trust wide cervical screening provider lead job description includes accountability to the chief executive officer, dedicated time, and administrative support 1, 4 3 months Standard Job description with accountability, dedicated professional activity allocation and administrative support
04 Present an annual performance report and 6 monthly update to cover all NHSCSP services including health inequalities, presented to the Trust clinical governance committee 1, 412 monthsStandardAnnual and 6 monthly performance report with meeting minutes
05Formalise existing quarterly cervical business meetings chaired by the Cervical Screening Provider Lead1, 43 monthsHighTerms of reference including representation, agenda, meeting schedule and minutes of most recent meeting
06Develop and implement a Trust wide annual audit schedule for cervical screening services16 monthsStandardApproved annual audit schedule covering colposcopy and histopathology, to include audit of conservative management of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade 2
07Update relevant local policies to include reference to managing screening incidents in accordance with “Managing Safety Incidents in NHS Screening Programmes”56 monthsStandardRatified policy
08Manage all screening incidents in accordance with “Managing Safety Incidents in NHS Screening Programmes”53 monthsHighAll staff trained in incident reporting e-learning module to be completed by all relevant staffIncident outcomes presented to programme board
09Put in place a cervical screening risk management process53 monthsHighConfirmation of process
10Nominate a trust wide deputy lead colposcopy nurse for cervical screening76 monthsStandardConfirmation of nomination
11Establish quarterly cervical operational meetings chaired by the lead colposcopist76 monthsHighTerms of reference including colposcopy staff representation, meeting schedule and escalation routes, and minutes of meetings
12Update existing invasive cervical cancer standard operating procedure (SOP) to reflect colposcopy review process66 monthsStandardUpdated SOP
Referral – no recommendations 
Intervention and outcome – colposcopy 
13Ensure that all colposcopists see a minimum of 50 new NHSCSP referrals a year
7
12 monthsStandardData submission showing number of new NHSCSP referrals for each colposcopist in the period April 2024 to March 2025
14Ensure that all colposcopy clinics are staffed by at least 2 nurses of which one is registered76 monthsHighConfirmation of nurse staffing and absence cover arrangements
15Put in place an action plan to demonstrate sustainable achievement of waiting time standards for appointments and treatments73 monthsHighAction plan
16Ensure colposcopy IT system can produce reliable data for KC65 submission and key performance indicators and is regularly backed up as outlined in National Service Specification 251,76 monthsStandardSubmission of accurate, validated KC65 and key performance indicators data and SOP for back up of the colposcopy database and SOP covering process of recording first offered appointments
17Update the local Trust colposcopy clinical guidelines to reflect current NHS Cervical Screening Programme guidance76 monthsStandardRatified guidelines with evidence of implementation to include processes for conservative management of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade 2
18Put in place a procedure for cervical sample taking across the Trust76 monthsStandardSOP
19Implement a SOP for the production, validation, and discussion of actions for internal performance monitoring data1,76 monthsHighSOP
20Implement SOPs for colposcopy nursing and administrative processes and colposcopy clinic arrangements73 monthsHighSOPs
21Audit individual colposcopy performance data where national standards are not met1,73 monthsHighAudits and actions taken
22
Update trust colposcopy patient letters so they represent up to date clinical management and use current screening programme terminology76 monthsStandardUpdated copies of standard result letters
Multidisciplinary team
23Develop and implement a SOP for case selection for the MDT meetings1,76 monthsStandardSOP including rolling failsafe process
24Ensure all colposcopists attend a minimum of 50% of MDT meetings1,712 monthsStandardMDT attendance records 01 October 2024 to 30 September 2025
25Implement annual audit of MDT case selection and outcomes1,76 monthsStandardEvidence of annual audit of MDT case selection and actions taken

Next steps

The screening service provider is responsible for developing an action plan in collaboration with the commissioners to complete the recommendations contained within this report.

SQAS will work with commissioners to monitor activity and progress of the recommendations for 12 months after the report is published.

After this point SQAS will send a letter to the provider and commissioners summarising the progress made and will outline any further action(s) needed.

Appendix B: References

  1. NHS Public Health Functions Agreement 2023-24 Service Specification No. 25, NHS Cervical Screening Programme
  2. Guidance for NHS Commissioners on Equality and Health Inequality Duties 2015
  3. NHS Accessible Information standard and specification
  4. NHS Cervical Screening Programme: the role of the cervical screening provider lead
  5. Managing safety incidents in NHS screening programmes
  6. National invasive cervical cancer audit
  7. Cervical screening: programme and colposcopy management