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New topic proposals for national clinical audits process 2011

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Details of the rollout of the 11 topics added to NCAPOP

Prostate cancer, breast cancer and learning difficulties included in raft of national clinical audit programmes commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership

The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) is pleased to announce that eleven new topics for national clinical audit are to join the 29 projects already forming the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP).

NCAPOP is commissioned and managed by HQIP on behalf of the Department of Health, and Health Secretary Andrew Lansley made the announcement on Saturday (22 October 2011).

The procurement processes for the below topics has begun, and guidance regarding expressions of interest for these processes can be accessed by clicking on the relevant link below.

 

Specification Development

Specification development meetings (SDM) will be held to provide advice to allow HQIP to review the key design features embodied in the proposal against the Department of Health commissioning requirements, discuss the associated risks and consider whether any elements need to be refined or added to. 

The SDMs for COPD, Emergency Laparotomy, National Vascular Registry, Prostate Cancer and Learning Difficulties have now taken place.

The topics which are intended to be procured next are:

  • Chronic kidney disease in primary care - procurement cycles begin May 2012 
  • Rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis - procurement cycles begin May 2012 
  • Specialist rehabilitation for patients with complex needs - procurement cycles begin June 2012
  • Ophthalmology - procurement cycles begin June 2012
  • Breast cancer - procurement cycle begins December 2012
  • Healthcare for individuals with sexually transmitted diseases and HIV - procurement cycle begins March 2013 

Experts who feel they can contribute specifically to one (or more) of these SDMs should contact HQIP's National Clinical Audit Development Associate Samantha McIntyre at samantha.mcintyre@hqip.org.uk for further details.

 

Topic selection process

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley's announcements followed a process which saw professionals working in all areas of health care invited to propose topics that, in their opinion, would benefit from the development of a national clinical audit to help drive quality improvement in that area.

A total of 39 proposals were received and the proposals were evaluated by the National Clinical Audit Advisory Group (NCAAG) against explicit criteria. The proposals were of unprecedented quality, which was felt to be representative of the increasing interest and engagement with clinical audit nationally.

Four of the 11 new clinical audits begun the procurement process in the last financial year (2011/12) and the remaining seven are intended to be procured by the end of financial year 2013/14.

Brief notes from the NCAAG evaluation meeting which was held on 1 June 2011 can be downloaded here>>

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Original call for new topic proposals, from 17 March 2011:

HQIP has secured additional funding for several new national clinical audits and the call for new topic proposals is now live.

Whilst the proposal process remains open to relevant healthcare, professional and commissioning bodies, there is also a renewed focus on encouraging a broader range of organisations such as charities, patient organisations and other relevant groups to propose new topics.

The number and scale of the new projects will depend on the nature of applications received, but it is thought likely to allow for an increase equivalent to four or more national clinical audits.

The process of selection of new topics is managed by HQIP with final decisions made by the Department of Health. The objective of this proposal exercise is to provide a competitive and transparent process by which suggested topics may be put forward for consideration in a standardised format.

Interested parties are invited to read the NTPF cover letter (which provides more background for qualifying projects) before completing the New Topics Proposal Form. NB: if you cannot open this, request the form via email.

Applicants will be expected to have engaged key stakeholders to agree a project vision and to analyse potential objectives and associated methodologies prior to application.

HQIP recognises that some non-traditional applicants may have difficulty completing certain sections of the proposal form, and if this is the case these applicants should contact HQIP National Clinical Audit Team for guidance at the earliest opportunity (contact details above). All applicants should note that during the evaluation phase, particular attention will be paid to the proposal’s alignment with NCAAG selection criteria.

See the NCAAG selection criteria in full here >>

More information is available on what constitutes clinical audit and details of the current NCAPOP programme.

HQIP is also holding an open forum to support those considering proposing new topics for national clinical audit on Thursday 7 April at London's Wellcome Collection Conference Centre. See more on the Question and Answer event here >>

Deadline for applications is noon 17 May 2011.

Note: The previously published costings section of this announcement has been removed as it has become apparent that this requirement might potentially discriminate against those new to applying for national clinical audits, and therefore less familiar with building costings on a large scale.

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