Roles and accountabilities. The NHS NBS Programme is dependent on systematic specified relationships between stakeholders. Stakeholders include maternity services, the screening laboratory, diagnostics laboratory and genetics services, child health records departments, health visiting services and specialist condition specific services, that is, ‘the screening pathway’. The provider will be expected to fully contribute to making sure that cross-organisational systems are in place to maintain the quality of the whole screening pathway that provides the optimal care for families. This will include, but is not limited to: • provision of coordinated screening that ensures all parties are clear of their roles and responsibilities, so that there is clarity of handover of responsibility throughout all elements of the screening pathway • agreeing and documenting roles and responsibilities relating to all elements of the screening pathway across organisations • developing joint audit and monitoring processes • agreeing joint failsafe mechanisms, where required, to ensure safe and timely processes across the whole screening pathway, see Checks and audits failsafe procedures • contributing to any commissioner and public health screening lead initiatives in screening pathway development in line with NHS NBS programmes expectations • providing or seeking to provide suitable electronic links with relevant organisations • links with primary care • links with secondary and/or tertiary care • the need for appropriate IT systems across the screening pathway • joint review meetings across the screening pathway to be held on a regular basis
Roles and accountabilities through the screening pathway The NIPE Programme is dependent on effective working relationships between stakeholders. Stakeholders include maternity, neonatal and paediatric services and related clinicians, ultrasound services, orthopaedic, cardiology, ophthalmology, urology and surgical services, primary care (General Practitioners, Health Visitors and Child Health Records Departments). In order to support safe and effective delivery of the local newborn NIPE screening programme all providers should have: • a designated co-ordinator (and deputy) in place in an oversight role. This may be a designated neonatal nurse, advanced neonatal nurse practitioner or midwife. • a clinical paediatric or neonatal lead to provide support supervision, clinical responsibility and oversight NHS England and NHS Improvement will be expected to ensure that the whole pathway is robust. The provider will be expected to fully contribute to ensuring that systems are in place to maintain the quality of the whole screening pathway in their organisation. This will include, but is not limited to: • provision of robust screening coordination which links with all elements of the screening pathway • ensuring that responsibilities relating to all elements of the screening pathway across organisations and organisational boundaries are identified • developing joint audit and monitoring processes • agreeing joint checks and audit mechanisms where required to ensure safe and timely processes across the whole screening pathway • contributing to any NHS England and NHS Improvement and public health screening lead initiatives in screening pathway development in line with NHS screening programmes expectations • providing robust electronic links for screening services across the screening pathway • links with primary care
