When breast screening was introduced in England, it was within a framework of quality assurance. The aim of quality assurance in the NHSBSP is the maintenance of minimum standards and continuous improvement in all aspects of breast screening to ensure that women have access to a high quality service wherever they reside. Each region has a breast screening quality assurance reference centre that monitors and collates accurate, timely statistics from all
breast screening centres. The Quality Assurance Reference Centre is led by a director, who is supported by a team with co-ordinators from each professional group involved in breast screening. It is the responsibility of each co-ordinator to meet their professional counterparts and assess whether the service meets the NHSBSP (2000) quality assurance standards