UKNEQAS Code of Practice

Amended at the Consortium AGM October 1999

Definitions

A1. Members are defined as EQA Schemes or groups of Schemes which have been accepted for membership of Pathology Quality Assessment (the Association).

A2. The Executive Committee means all those persons appointed to perform the duties of Directors of the Association.

Procedures

B1. Members shall be admitted to membership by the Executive Committee at its discretion. Applications for membership shall be made to the Executive Committee, on an application form available from the Secretary and must be accompanied by a signed statement from the Organiser that the Scheme or Schemes conforms with the Code of Practice.

B2. Schemes operating under the name "UK NEQAS" at the time of incorporation of the Association (20/1/95) were deemed members of the Association for a period of grace of 1 year from that date, during which time formal application for membership must be made.

B3. Only those Schemes recognised by the Executive Committee shall be entitled to use the service mark "UK NEQAS" and associated logos.

B4. A Scheme that fails to comply with the Code of Practice shall be reminded by the Executive Committee of its obligation as a member of the Association and required to rectify the non-conformity. Where a Scheme still fails to conform with the Code of Practice, the Executive Committee may prepare a written case for that Scheme to cease to be recognised as a member of the Association. In response the member shall be offered one month in which to prepare a written case for remaining as a member of the Association. The documents shall be circulated to all members who will determine, by a majority vote of the Association in General Meeting, whether the member should be expelled from the Association provided that any member to be so expelled shall also have the opportunity to make representation to the meeting at which the decision is to be made. Any decision to expel a member shall have immediate effect.

Scheme Management

C1. Participation in Schemes shall be open to all UK laboratories offering a clinical service for analytes or investigations covered by the Scheme.                                                     
C2. The analytes or investigations covered by the Scheme shall be selected on the basis of their clinical relevance.

C3. Schemes shall be independent of any manufacturing and marketing interests in equipment and reagents in the field in which they operate and any interests in the provision of analytical services shall be declared.

C4. The staff involved in directing and operating the Scheme shall be appropriately qualified.

C5. The conditions of participation for UK laboratories providing a direct or indirect clinical service shall be those currently promulgated by the Joint Working Group for Quality Assurance

C6. The Organiser of the Scheme shall liaise with a Steering Committee comprising appropriate experts, participants and clinical advisers approved by the Executive Committee. Agendas, Minutes and list of attendees shall be copied to the UK NEQAS Office.

C7. The Organiser shall monitor those participants failing to maintain acceptable levels of performance and present results to the appropriate National Quality Assurance Advisory Panel (NQAAP) comprising nominees of the appropriate professional societies and recognised by the Joint Working Group (JWG) on Quality Assurance.

C8. The full, realistically calculated costs of operating the scheme shall be fully recovered from participants' subscriptions. Schemes shall be non-profit making and any operating surplus shall be reinvested in the schemes.

C9. Management arrangements shall enable continuity of the EQA service to participants.

Scheme Design

D1. The Scheme's aim shall be to facilitate optimal patient care by facilitating the availability of reliable laboratory investigations, through provision of objective information on laboratory performance and professional advice and assistance where appropriate.

D2. Schemes should enable the detection of inadequate performance by a participating laboratory. The standard of participants with apparent performance difficulties should be improved by education rather than penalty.

D3. Material for investigation shall be distributed regularly at an appropriate frequency and in appropriate numbers to be agreed from time to time with the Steering Committee.

D4. Evidence shall be available to demonstrate the appropriateness, stability and uniformity (homogeneity) of the material distributed.

D5. The Scheme shall provide rapid feed-back of results and performance data to participants.

D6. A "correct" or target result should be identified and an appropriate (usually quantitative) evaluation of results be presented to allow comparison of individual participants' results with overall results.

D7. The Scheme shall conform to relevant safety standards and transport regulations.

D8. Confidentiality of individual participants' results and performance data shall be maintained except under circumstances specified in the Joint Working Group for Quality Assurance Conditions of Participation for UK clinical laboratories.

D9. The Scheme should share a common participant identification code with other relevant UK NEQASs.

Obligations and Responsibilities

E1. Organisers of member schemes shall keep the UK NEQAS Office informed of changes in schemes' details and activities. This shall include completion of an Annual Return and mid-year update as appropriate.

E2. Financial returns including annual accounts shall be submitted as required to the Executive Committee. These shall be in a standard format and validated by appropriate supporting documentation indicating agreement and acknowledgement by the budget holder.

E3. The Scheme shall contribute to the operating costs of the Association's Office and the costs of the services provided by the Office, as determined by the Association and administered by the Executive Committee.

E4. The Organiser of the Scheme shall uphold, promote and support the underlying principles of the Association as embodied in the Memorandum of Association and policies agreed at Annual General Meetings. Organisers shall play a full part in ensuring UK NEQAS is a harmonised, participant-responsive service.

E5. Organisers shall achieve appropriate accreditation for their schemes.

E6. All aspects of the work of a member Scheme shall be open to audit conducted by or on behalf of the Association. The purpose of the audit is to assess the management of the Scheme in its ability to provide a service that complies with the stated aims and Code of Practice of the Association.

E7. Where Organisers of member Schemes also operate other services including non-member Schemes, other than pilot Schemes intended to become member Schemes, the other services shall be financially independent of the member Schemes.

E8. Organisers and staff of member Schemes and members of Steering Committees shall neither operate nor advise any Schemes which are in competition with other member Schemes.