The first IASIOS Accredited Centre
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, UK
The International Accreditation System for Interventional Oncology Services (IASIOS) is proud to announce that Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded the status of an IASIOS Accredited Centre!
Ms. Nicole Silva, the Senior Project & Quality Officer in the Directorate of Clinical Imaging and Medical Physics at Guy’s and St Thomas’s, served as the authorised representative for the IO service at the centre. Dr Shahzad Ilyas, consultant in Interventional Radiology (IR), and Ms Alison Pollard, Head of Nursing, provided guidance and led improvements in clinical practice. The work of this team was instrumental in completing the IASIOS application process. Ms. Silva, on behalf of the hospital, said:
“The interventional oncology (IO) team at Guy’s and St Thomas’ is delighted to receive this recognition of our work in cancer care. Completing the IASIOS application process was a challenging experience, but the IASIOS Office was on hand to support our team and answer our questions. Ultimately, applying for IASIOS has led to the advancement of our IO facility by helping us to analyse our service line and to determine how to improve our delivery of high-quality IO care.”
Interventional Oncology (IO)
IO is a subspecialty field of IR that has expanded significantly over the past few decades and now plays an increasingly important role in the clinical management of cancer patients. IO offers minimally invasive local tumour treatments that are safe and effective.
The International Accreditation System for Interventional Oncology Services (IASIOS)
IASIOS offers facilities the unique opportunity to achieve a seal of quality and recognition for their IO services, delivered in keeping with the CIRSE Standards of Quality Assurance in IO. These standards focus on providing a high level of patient care, establishing good practice with quantifiable benchmarks, and raising the profile of the minimally invasive treatment options offered by interventional oncologists. The Standards document has been very well received and is supported by 25 national IR and radiology societies from around the world.
In addition to certifying established centres such as Guy’s and St Thomas’, IASIOS is designed to help develop oncology facilities to plan and improve their services in a way that ultimately benefits the patient. Centres that are enrolled in the IASIOS system can utilise the support provided by the IASIOS office and optional consultancy while they are improving their IO service lines and preparing their IASIOS application.
Looking forward…
IASIOS is currently running a pilot phase with ten centres around the world, with several more preparing to join the pilot project later this year. General launch of IASIOS is planned for 2021.
If you are interested in finding out more about the IASIOS accreditation system check out www.iasios.org or email the IASIOS accreditation team at [email protected]