Accreditation Costs

There is a (re)accreditation administrative fee of 1.100 EUR due for the Advanced Ovarian cancer surgery (re)accreditation from applicant centres from High income countries and 500 EUR from centres from Low and Middle Income Countries. (Please consult the list of LMIC countries as of the World Bank).

However, if the same centre has already been accredited for Training or Endometrial Cancer surgery, the fee is as follows:

* Any of the following Centre (Re)Accreditations: Training, Ovarian or Endometrial Cancer Surgery

Besides, a formal acceptance and commitment to pay the travel expenses of the expert, a random full-day audit that might be necessary in exceptional cases.

Application Review & Reaccreditation Process

After checking, the application is submitted to a jury (3 members, rotating every 2 years) outside the country of applicant institution.

As the maximum score is 40, centers meeting 80% (score 32) of the maximum score are proposed for certification to the ESGO Guidelines, Quality Assurance and Recommendations Committee then the ESGO Council, which makes the final decision.

Accreditation is valid for 5 years, subject to renewal as a result of maintenance of the standards.

Accredited centres commit to provide every year an update of the above-mentioned figures. The process of renewal of accreditation is conditional to yearly transmission of the figures to the ESGO Guidelines Secretariat.

In general, centers scoring less than 28 will be rejected. Centers with self-assessment score 32 or more, but with discordant information, or centers with 28-31 (between 70% and 80% of the maximum score) score can resubmit after at least one year.

Centres of Excellence Award

Some high volume and high quality accredited centres can in addition apply for the «Centre of Excellence» award.

The role of Centres of Excellence is to highlight the ESGO quality assurance program, to offer education aimed at improving quality in non accredited centres, and in provisionally accredited centres, to offer complementary education to relatively low volume certified centres, and to set the basis for a European network of Centres of Excellence. They make the core of the accreditation jury.

The criteria defining a Centre of Excellence are:

• accredited centre, with an accredited ESGO fellowship program,

• performing ≥ 50 stage III-IV cytoreductive complete surgeries per year,

• actively participating in at least one trial in ovarian cancer,

• having published in a peer-review journal at least three papers on ovarian cancer per year authored by a gynaecological surgical oncology member of the team during the last three years including at least one paper as first or last author over entire period,

• optionally, having a basic research program and a biobank facility.

The founding Centres of Excellence are the centres represented within the International Development Group which meet the standard. After the creation of the jury made of the founding Centres of Excellence, later applications from accredited centres will be reviewed by the jury.

The award will be delivered by the Guidelines, Recommendations and Quality Assurance Committee of the ESGO.