Quality issues in genetics services in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The UK has quality standards for commissioning and delivering clinical and laboratory genetic services and for the education and training of staff • There are quality standards at national, regional and local levels • Quality markers for genetic services have generally grown from the experiences of genetic professionals over the last 30 years. • These have formed the basis of formal quality schemes now in operation, which are increasingly being linked to funding • There is agreement on measuring processes, but debate continues about how best to measure quality of outcomes (for instance, a genetic consultation) • The views of users of the services (patients and professionals) are an essential component of the quality schemes