The guidance lays out the foundation for the invited service review process, planning and preparing for a review, and the processes that will normally be followed by the RCR when undertaking reviews at the request of services.

Service reviews allow imaging and cancer care services to seek an external expert opinion and objective advice, according to an RCR statement. These are often requested where there are concerns for how a service is performing or to provide an external assessment following changes in leadership, for example, and such reviews can assess a service's response to recruitment, retention, or other workforce challenges, it noted.

These reviews are not used to assess the clinical competence of individual doctors and do not replace existing procedures for managing performance, the RCR stated.

You can download the 32-page document via the RCR website.