Accreditation in Cardiac Imaging a Statement from the BCS Imaging Council

Accreditation in Cardiac Imaging – A Statement from the BCS Imaging Council

The principal modalities of cardiac imaging are echocardiography, invasive contrast angiography, nuclear imaging, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and cardiac computed tomography (cardiac CT). Cardiac positron emission imaging is currently available in a few specialised centres. The performance and interpretation of cardiac imaging are tasks requiring a high level of skill, appropriate equipment and systems of governance and quality control. As such cardiac imaging should be performed and interpreted only by suitably qualified and experienced individuals working in departments with appropriate facilities. The Imaging Council of the British Cardiovascular Society comprises of representatives from all the major cardiac imaging groups with the aim of fostering a collaborative approach to the development of education and practice in cardiac imaging. This must occur within the framework of training specified by the GMC in the curricula in cardiology and cardiac radiology, by the future demands of revalidation and by the requirements of allied professional groups. Improvement in the quality of cardiac imaging in the UK is a common aim of all members of the Imaging Council.

The British Society of Echocardiography (BSE), the British Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (BSCMR) and the British Society for Cardiac Imaging (BSCI) have all endorsed accreditation procedures for their members aimed at assisting both individuals and cardiac imaging departments to improve the level of service that they provide. In the case of magnetic resonance imaging the BSCMR and BSCI support the criteria developed by the SCMR and do not separately accredit individuals. It must be stressed that all these accreditation processes are voluntary quality control initiatives and have no statutory role. They are not designed to restrict practice but simply to provide a means of allowing practitioners both medical and non medical to demonstrate that they have achieved a specified level of experience in an appropriate educational environment. For medical trainees the requirements for individual accreditation relate very closely to those of the relevant training curricula. Departmental accreditation procedures are primarily a quality improvement scheme designed to facilitate the introduction of quality control and to demonstrate that staff, equipment and processes reach specified standards. They may be seen both as a framework for service improvement and also as a tool for under resourced units to negotiate for improved staffing or facilities to allow them to achieve accreditation.

Details of the accreditation processes offered by the affiliated imaging groups can be accessed via their websites:

British Society of Echocardiography:

British Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging:

British Society of Cardiovascular Imaging:

The curriculum for training in cardiology can be accessed at:

And for radiology at