Audits - Avon Somerset and Wiltshire Cancer Services

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1. National Audits

Clinical audit is an integral part of healthcare delivery within the NHS, giving medical staff and clinicians the opportunity to continually review their practice and delivery.

The NCASP (National Clinical Audit Support Programme (NCASP) was established in September 2001 to support the ongoing assessment of clinical care through the delivery of a national audit programme. 

The NCASP is commissioned by the Care Quality Commission and managed by The Information Centre for Health and Social Care.

The national cancer clinical audits which are currently live are:-

• NLCA (National Lung Cancer Audit)
• DAHNO (Data for Head & Neck Oncology)
• NBCA (National Bowel Cancer Audit)
• NOGCA (National Oesophago-gastric Cancer Audit)

The MBR (Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction Audit) is now closed.

ASWCS has agreed a timetable for data submission to the audits, as a guideline for the staff involved in submitting the cancer data for their Trusts. To view the document click on the link below.

ASWCS National Audit and SWPHO data Upload Timetable - Sept 2012 [pdf] 64KB

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 NLCA (National Lung Cancer Audit)

The national NLCA (National Lung Cancer Audit) collects information on referral, diagnosis, treatment and outcome for people diagnosed with lung cancer or mesothelioma.

The dataset was developed and agreed by the Royal College of Physicians Intercollegiate Lung Cancer Group.

The aim of the audit is to better understand the incidence of lung cancer within the UK, to describe the range of treatments utilised and to explore regional variations in treatments and outcomes.  Using data that has been risk-adjusted for case mix, the audit has the potential to explain some of the wide variations observed in patient care and outcomes.

Data is held on a secure web-based system and is uploaded via a Comma Separated Value (CSV) file and submitted by Trusts who diagnose and/or treat patients with lung cancer and mesothelioma.

The submission of data to the NLCA database is monitored by NCASP on a monthly basis and quarterly monitoring reports reviewing data quality and completeness are sent to the Cancer Networks and Provider Trusts providing feedback on the quality of the data they have submitted.

Useful Documents and Links

• Link to national NLCA webpage
• Link to getting started
• Link to Useful Documents and Systems updates
• Link to LUCADA Annual Reports

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DAHNO (Data for Head and Neck Oncology)

The national DAHNO (Data for Head & Neck Oncology) audit focuses on cancer sites within the Head and Neck, (excluding tumours of the brain and thyroid) the most common being the larynx and oral cavity.

It is commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) to manage and provide the infrastructure for DAHNO and has been developed in parternership with the British Association of Head and Neck Oncologists (BAHNO) who provide the clinical direction and specialist input.

Data are collected by hospitals in England which diagnose and treat patients with cancer of the larynx and oral cavity.  These data are then amalgamated with data from other parts of the United Kingdom to produce a report on national standards of care.

Data are collected on a secure web-based system.  Data can be entered in two ways - manual entry or an upload via a Comma Separated Value (CSV) file.

The audit allows national assessment of outcomes and provides a tool to improve the standard of care, identifying areas of good practice to teams delivering head and neck cancer care.

Useful Documents and Links

• Link to national DAHNO webpage
• Link to Getting Started
• Link to User Documentation
• Link to DAHNO Annual Reports

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NBCA (National Bowel Cancer Audit)

The National Bowel Cancer Audit (NBCA) is a high profile, collaborative, national clinical audit for bowel cancer run jointly by The NHS Information Centre and the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPSGI). 

The NHS Information Centre's National Clinical Audit Support Programme (NCASP) provides project management and the technical infrastructure, while the ACPGBI provides clinical leadership and direction.

The audit aims to improve the quality of care and survival of patients with bowel cancer. It meets the requirements as set out in the NHS Cancer Plan 2000, National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines and the Report of the Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry.

In order to ensure that people with bowel cancer receive the best care possible, the more that is known about the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care of this disease and the outcomes, the more can be done to improve things. The NBCA is designed to provide this vital information.

Submissions are made via Open Exeter which is a secure web-based database.

Useful Documents and Links

• Link to national NBCA webpage
• Link to Getting Started
• Link to User Documentation
• Link to NBCA Annual Reports

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NOGCA (National Oesophago-gastric Cancer Audit)

The National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Audit (NOGCA) was commissioned by the Healthcare Commission to examine the quality of care given to patients with oesophago-gastric (OG) cancer, and thereby help services to improve. The Audit will evaluate the process of care and the outcomes of treatment for all OG cancer patients, both curative and palliative.  The audit was closed for submissions in February 2010.

In June 2011 the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) was awarded the contract for the continuation of the NOGCA with funding confirmed for another three years, with an expectation for it to continue beyond this period.

The Audit will continue to examine the quality of care received by patients with oesophago-gastric cancer in England and Wales.  This will be primarily based on prospectively collected patient data supplemented with data from nationally available datasets.

In the first year, the Audit will restart the prospective data collection and will use the dataset from the first audit.  In the second and third year there will be some changes to the audit. 

The audit covers all patients in England and Wales with a diagnosis of invasive epithelial cancer of the oesophagus, O-G junction or stomach.  The audit will include patients diagnosed after 1 April 2011.

Patients with high-grade dysplasia of the Barrett's oesophagus will be included from April 2012.

Trusts are now able to enter data on patients (diagnosed after 1 April 2011).

Useful Documents and Links

• Link to NOGCA web page
• Link to Getting Started
• Link to Useful Documents
• Link to NOGCA Annual Reports

MBR (Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction Audit)

The Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction (MBR) audit was a national audit of provision and outcomes for women in England and Wales. The audit included all women treated between 1 January 2008 and 31 March 2009. The audit closed for submissions on 14 May 2009.

The National Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction (MBR) Audit was commissioned and funded by the Healthcare Commission to assess and improve the quality of care provided to women with breast cancer undergoing mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery. The audit evaluated the care process and measured treatment outcomes for these women.

Useful Documents and Links

• Link to national MBR webpage
• Link to User Documentation
• Link to MBR Annual Reports

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2. ASWCS Network Site Specialist Group Audit reports

This section will include information about ASWCS Network Site Specialist Group (SSG) Audits which are undertaken by the individual groups as part of their work programmes.

This section is still under construction.

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