S1516
Interdisciplinary - Quality assurance and risk management
ESTRO 2026
Sandra Harkin 1,2 , Clare Faul 3,4 , Roisin OMaolalai 5 , James Waldron 1,2 , Aoife Shannon 6 , Ieva Teiserskyte 7 , Marc Nolan 7 , Sinead Brennan 3,8 1 Physics, St.Luke's Radiation Oncology Network, Dublin, Ireland. 2 Physics, Irish Research in Radiation Oncology Group, Dublin, Ireland. 3 Radiation Oncology, St.Luke's Radiation Oncology Network, Dublin, Ireland. 4 Radiation Oncology, Cancer Trials Ireland, Dublin,
Ireland. 5 Radiation Therapy, Irish Research in Radiation Oncology Group, Dublin, Ireland.
6 Radiotherapy Programme Manager, Cancer Trials Ireland, Dublin, Ireland. 7 Clinical Data Management, Cancer Trials Ireland, Dublin, Ireland. 8 Radiation Oncology, Irish Research in Radiation Oncology Group, Dublin, Ireland Purpose/Objective: In 2022, the Irish Radiation Research Oncology Group (IRROG) was established with funding from the Health Research Board (HRB) to enhance equitable access to radiotherapy clinical research across Ireland. As part of this initiative, the IRROG Radiotherapy Quality Assurance (RTQA) Programme was developed to provide centrally coordinated radiotherapy QA for all relevant Irish investigator-initiated studies (IISs).Ireland has a strong tradition of investigator- initiated research in radiation oncology; however, prior to IRROG, most studies were conducted at single sites. Modelled on the UK RTTQA Group's framework, the IRROG RTQA Programme was created to support consistency across multiple centres and to strengthen the scientific rigour of Irish radiotherapy research. This abstract outlines the development and implementation of the RTQA Programme during its inaugural multi-site study— Dose-Escalated Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) for Solid Tumour Spine Metastases (Spine SABR CTRIAL-IE-20- 03)—now open in three Irish centres (see Figure 1 - Schema of CTRIAL-IE-20_03).
ASR provides innovative, evidence based and practical advice on effective communication and promotes a greater focus on the patient as an active valued participant in safety.1 To ensure patients are equal partners in safety, language and methods of communication adopted must be clear, accessible and inclusive to our diverse range of stakeholders. Conclusion: Language influences perception and can significantly impact psychological safety and local culture. The adoption of positive terminology, which avoids the apportion of individual blame, supports communication and enhances patient and staff engagement.The changes to terminology published within the UK consensus guidance documents aims to promote continual learning, system wide improvements and ultimately advance patient safety. 1,2 References: 1. UKHSA, Advancing safer radiotherapy (2025) Available at. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/radiothe rapy-advancing-safer-radiotherapy (accessed 06.11.2025)2. UKHSA, Safer radiotherapy: national patient safety radiotherapy event taxonomy (2025). Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safer- radiotherapy-national-patient-safety-radiotherapy- event-taxonomy (accessed 06.11.2025)3. NHS England, The NHS Patient Safety Strategy: safer culture, safer systems, safer patients (2019). Available at https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp- content/uploads/2020/08/190708_Patient_Safety_Strat egy_for_website_v4.pdf (accessed 06.11.2025) Keywords: Event Learning Safety
Material/Methods: The RTQA Programme was collaboratively designed by IRROG physicists and radiation therapists, with oversight and final approval from the study’s Principal Investigator (PI). Pre-study credentialing included review of facility questionnaires, external audit reports from certified bodies (e.g., MD Anderson IROC Houston Quality Assurance Centre) which verified end-
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Establishment of the IRROG RTQA Programme, Spine SABR Dose Escalation Study Experience
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