AXREM Position Statement on Credentialing March 2022

18 March 2022

AXREM (the UK trade association representing suppliers of diagnostic medical imaging, radiotherapy, healthcare IT and care equipment in the UK), are aware that some NHS Trusts in England have contracted with 3rd party companies to provide a credentialing and accreditation service on their behalf.  We understand that these have been positioned as “free” services to participating NHS Trusts, though these credentialing companies levy a charge to supplier organisations on a recurring annual “per employee” basis.  Whilst offered as a free service to NHS Trusts, these schemes present additional costs within the supply chain which ultimately impacts the price the NHS pays for goods and services.

Furthermore, there are multiple scheme operators and supplier employees registered with one scheme are potentially still refused access should the NHS Trust they are visiting have contracted with an alternate scheme, meaning that some companies may have to sign staff up to multiple schemes further increasing pricing impacts.

AXREM member companies provide medical imaging and therapy solutions, the procurement of which is typically conducted through formal procurements or accredited framework agreements. These procurement channels have included validation and confirmation that employees involved in the Sales, Support, Applications Training and Project Management have the necessary formal qualifications to meet the requirements of the tender.

It is AXREM’s fear that our members’ field engineers, applications staff, project managers and product specialists may be refused entry to hospital departments to fulfil their contracted obligations to repair and support critical equipment which is used in the diagnosis and treatment of disease in patients. This may lead to delays in the diagnosis of disease, disrupting care pathways, delaying treatment for patients and negatively impacting patient care.

As a consequence, AXREM is launching the AXREM Member Accreditation (AMA) Scheme which is a true low cost “not for profit” accreditation scheme which reduces the cost burden within the supply chain; (costs that would otherwise inevitably find themselves reflected in the cost of products and services borne by NHS Trusts). The scheme is specifically aligned with NHS requirements and policies.  Indeed, the AXREM Member Accreditation Scheme Council includes representations from The Society and College of Radiographers, Institute of Physics & Engineering in Medicine, The Royal College of Radiologists and The British Institute of Radiology. This will ensure that the scheme is open and transparent, maintaining alignment with NHS and Professional Body stakeholders.

Fundamentally this is an employer scheme, such that the AXREM employer organisation underwrites the credentials of employees against agreed criteria. AXREM will carry out “audits” to ensure that the correct procedures are being adhered to by the relevant companies.  Scheme member employers commit to reflect NHS policies such as those relating to DBS checking, Vaccination policy, and Health & Safety.  Employers also assume a responsibility to ensure their staff are trained/qualified as appropriate to their role.

Registrants will carry an AMA membership card which will display their name, their employers company name, their photo, and a unique ID number and associated QR code. The employment status of the individual can be simply checked at any time by scanning the badge on the QR code without requiring specialist equipment and enabling validation of the registrant.

You can find out more about AMA here: https://www.axrem.org.uk/ama/