The professional advisory structure for Weqas is a Steering Committee which meets with the organisers of Weqas three times a year. Steering Committee members selected are renowned within their fields with medical, scientific or technical experience to cover the scope of EQA services provided and advise the organisers of Weqas on the overall operation of the programme.  Steering Committee members discuss the frequency of distribution of materials, the types of materials to be distributed, methods of statistical analysis and data presentation, the desirability of introducing new investigations to the programme, evaluation of criteria for satisfactory performance, the critical cut offs, the appropriate clinical range, clinical advice and interpretative comments. The Steering Committee is not concerned with the performance of individual participating laboratories, except where this might indicate a failure in the operation of the programme.

The Steering Committee discusses with the organisers criteria for satisfactory performance and they have agreed that the responsibility for the acceptance of such criteria will rest with the National Quality Assurance Advisory Panel for Chemical Pathology (NQAAP). All members of the Steering Committee are available to receive comments from participants, although the majority of comments are received by the organisers via the “helpline”.

Steering Committee Members

Dr. David Housley

Prof. Garry John

Dr. Patrick Twomey

Dr. Nigel Brown

Mr. Jamie West

Dr. Emma English

Dr. Aidan Ryan

Prof. Timothy James

Ms. Elizabeth Ralph

Dr. Catherine Moore

Advisors

Dr. Danja Schulenburg-Brand