Today we publish new guidance for staff involved in organising and leading local breast screening services.
The Public Health England (PHE) information has been developed by professionals with hands-on experience of running breast screening services.
Breast screening: leading a service is an important guide for:
- directors of breast screening, including deputies and lead radiologists
- senior leadership teams, including programme and office managers and lead radiographers
- local commissioning teams
- screening quality assurance service
Director role
The role of director of breast screening is absolutely crucial in providing the leadership and effective organisation for breast screening services.
The guidance will help the director of screening and their senior clinical and management teams to fully appreciate the full range of their responsibilities and includes:
- key role definitions and responsibilities within breast screening services
- where management and clinical accountability sits
- budgetary, workforce and professional development requirements
- where responsibility for screening ends and the treatment begins
- different ways that services can be organised
- governance requirements of screening
- some example job descriptions
- signposting to existing screening programme guidance
Creating the best service for women
Breast screening in England is delivered through a network of 78 individual services which vary enormously in size, from eligible populations of 25,000 to over 250,000 women. The organisational leadership of a service will look different depending on its size, demographics and various other factors. However, the same principles apply to ensure safe and effective organisation.
PHE's new guidance is to support the providers and stakeholders who monitor and commission services to achieve the best possible outcomes and ultimately the best service for women.
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