15 September 2009: 6 new national clinical audits to be added to programme
The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), a not-for-profit organisation funded by the Department of Health to increase the impact that clinical audit has on healthcare quality in England and Wales, has today announced the addition of 6 new national clinical audits to the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcome Programme (NCAPOP).
The new audits were chosen following a call for proposals for new national clinical audit topics, issued by HQIP and the National Clinical Audit Advisory Group (NCAAG), an independent advisory group to the Department of Health.
From these proposals, topics and approaches were prioritised by NCAAG using a set of agreed criteria, including clinical/health and social policy importance, methodological rigour, evidence of significant variation in quality of care, the purpose of the audit and any broader policy objectives. Tenders were then invited and further assessed by NCAAG, with a decision made to proceed with funding the following:
These were considered important not only because they represent a cross-section of care but also because of the number of patients that are affected by these conditions.
Robin Burgess, Chief Executive of the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) said "The National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP) has proved the value of clinical audit in leading to measurable changes in care and treatment for patients. Without NCAPOP, these year on year improvements may not be achieved.
These new audits will help drive quality improvement in the conditions to be audited There is urgent need for practice to be reviewed in these areas and it is hoped that the six new clinical audits will address any shortfalls of care and treatment identified."
Nick Black, Chairman of the National Clinical Audit Advisory Committee (NCAAG) said "The choice of new national clinical audit topics reflects the need to audit not only secondary but also primary and social care. In assessing topics, NCAAG took a range of factors into account, including clinical/health and social policy importance and evidence of significant variation in quality of care, and it is hoped that the 6 new audits will lead to a significant impact on patient care."
At this time a decision on when the next invitations for new topics for clinical audit will be issued has not been made. However those organisations with plans or ideas for new national audits should discuss them initially with HQIP's development team for advice.
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