[UKNEQAS]

This is the home page of the United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Scheme for Diagnostic Renal Pathology.

Current Circulations

Analyses of Recent Circulations

Detailed Information about the Scheme

Note: the Scheme Organiser has changed in August 2008. The new Organiser is Dr Ian Roberts.

Purpose and Methods of the Scheme

The main aim of the scheme is educational. Renal pathologists are helped to learn from their errors, without those errors harming patient management or causing embarrasment.

The scheme functions by circulating microscope slides, photomicrographs and clinical information to diagnostic renal pathologists. The pathologists return their diagnoses and comments to the Scheme Organiser. A numeric score is allocated to every diagnosis, by a complex method which is described below; subjective interpretation is minimised and scoring relies heavily on the 'closeness of fit' with the consensus of the whole group. Objective, personalised feedback is then provided to each participant in a confidential manner.

However, definitions of 'sub-standard performance' have been developed, as have confidential measures to help pathologists in such a position, as well as to check that patient care is not compromised.

In this manner, the EQA scheme also forms a system of assurance to healthcare organisations that diagnostic skills are being maintained.

To maintain confidentiality, information about the performance of individual pathologists is held only in coded form on a computer which has no network connections. It is not available here.


Detailed Information about the Scheme


Circulations available:

For current circulations, clinical information is given which participants can print out to allow responses to be submitted by post if the paper response sheets have been mislaid.

When a participant returns a set of responses, a confidential code can be provided to allow access to the opinions of other participants on those cases which have accumulated so far - not available on this website.

Current Circulations (Sorry, online response submission is suspended due to frequent and obscene attacks from 'spammers'):

A catalogue of past cases is available as an Excel spreadsheet. Details and images are provided through the links below. For some recent circulations the sections are also available as virtual slides on the Leeds server.

Completed circulations:

Each circulation has a list of cases. Each case has clinical information, material circulated, a set of images from the case, a list of proffered diagnoses with the popularity of each and a synopsis of further comments.

Older circulations:


This website is hosted by the University of Leicester, U.K.


Last Updated: July 2008

Scheme Organiser: Professor P. N. Furness, Department of Pathology, University Hospitals of Leicester, U.K.
Email: pnf1@le.ac.uk