UKAS Healthcare Accreditation Specialist Alyson Bryant gives an insight into what being a Technical Assessor involves.
Have you ever been observed by a UKAS Technical Assessor during an assessment and thought “I wonder how you get to be an assessor, it looks really interesting?” Or: “I’d be interested in doing that, but I bet it takes up loads of time.”
With the introduction of ISO 15189:2022, you have the opportunity to find out more.
UKAS’s network of independent Technical Assessors is a hugely important resource, which supports UKAS in delivering effective, technically competent assessments. We are always on the lookout for enthusiastic individuals to join our assessor network. We have a mixture of assessors currently working in pathology services and recently retired staff who want to stay involved in pathology for another few years.
Becoming a Technical Assessor allows you to develop in-depth knowledge of ISO 15189:2022, network with other assessors and accredited services, and support improvement of pathology service quality across the UK.
UKAS appreciates that it might seem counterproductive to release staff from the “day job” to participate in UKAS assessments. However, pathology services that employ UKAS assessors benefit from the knowledge those assessors gain from being part of the assessor network, meaning they are often more compliant, with potentially fewer non-conformities identified during UKAS assessments.
UKAS Technical Assessors are usually NHS Band 7 (or equivalent) or above. To cover the scope of ISO 15189:2022, we use a combination of biomedical scientist assessors, clinical scientists and consultants/consultant biomedical scientists. Assessors need strong technical/clinical knowledge, including, where relevant, experience of method validation/verification and familiarity with relevant EQA schemes. Knowledge of ISO 15189:2022 is advantageous, but full training is provided by UKAS.
Technical assessments vary in length, depending on the accredited scope, number of sites, and various other factors. Most assessments involve on-site assessment, although there are still opportunities to perform remote assessments. We ask assessors to perform a minimum of three assessments per year, to ensure our assessors are competent and confident.
When the members of the UKAS Medical Laboratory Technical Advisory Committee were asked why they became, and continue to be, assessors they said: “Being an assessor is a great opportunity to see how others have tackled the problems or service requests we all face. It’s definitely opened my mind about creative solutions and interpretation of the standards which I’ve been able to bring back to my own labs.”
“Whilst the focus of assessing is to ensure laboratories are working within the requirements of the standard and providing a reliable, valuable and effective service to patients and clinical users there is more to assessment visits. It is really interesting to get out and see what other labs are doing, what equipment and methods are being used, get ideas for what might be good to implement in your own area and learn from others about how they solve problems and innovate”.
“I find visits rewarding and educational. I invariably come away with ideas that I can propose for implementation in my own lab or clinical service”.
“Becoming a technical assessor for UKAS has been the best form of professional development I have ever undertaken.”
If you are interested in an informal discussion about the Technical Assessor role, or would like to apply, contact Andy Green, UKAS Talent Acquisition Manager ([email protected]) or Al Bryant, UKAS Healthcare Accreditation Specialist ([email protected]).
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