§ Lord Ironsideasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Quality Assurance Review Technique (QART) standard has now been adopted as a national quality assurance standard for all the 53 radiotherapy treatment centres in the United Kingdom.
§ Baroness CumberlegeQuality Assurance in Radiotherapy—A Quality Management System for Radiotherapy (QART) resulted from pilot studies in two clinical centres in Bristol and Manchester, funded by the Department of Health, on how best to implement a radiotherapy quality standard. The guidance was issued to all radiotherapy centres in 1994 and now serves as a model for other radiotherapy centres to follow.
§ Lord Ironsideasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the staff at the Bristol Oncology Centre and the Christie Hospital, Manchester, are authorised to carry out quality assurance assessments to the Quality Assurance Review Technique (QART) standard at other Untied Kingdom centres, and whether they have done so.
§ Baroness CumberlegeThis is a matter for the hospitals concerned.
§ Lord Ironsideasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which radiotherapy treatment centres have certificated approval to the ISO 9002 Quality Assurance standard and which of the 53 centres in the United Kingdom have not yet put a quality assurance system in place in accordance with the Quality Assurance Review Technique (QART) standard issued in May 1991; and
Which of the 53 radiotherapy treatment centres in the United Kingdom have used contractors to assess their ability to meet the requirements of the Quality Assurance Review Technique (QART) standard and obtain certification to ISO 9002; and
Which contractors and assessment bodies have accreditation from the Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Health to carry out the quality assurance assessments to meet the 107WA requirements of the Quality Assurance Review Technique (QART) standards for radiotherapy treatment centres in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
§ Baroness CumberlegeThe information requested is not available centrally.