Clinical Audit Awareness Week, 22-26 June 2026

Clinical Audit Awareness Week (#CAAW26) is back for 2026, aiming to improve and save lives by promoting and celebrating the critical role of clinical audit and data-driven healthcare improvement.

The campaign includes thought-provoking events and activities, and lunchtime events announcing the Excellence in Clinical Audit Awards winners. Scroll down to discover and register for the webinars, find out more about the awards and access the #CAAW26 promotional resources to share awareness of the campaign.

A packed weekly programme – register for webinars now!

Across five themed days, 2026’s campaign will explore how insight becomes action, showcasing practical examples, innovation, and collaboration to support improvement across healthcare. Here’s a taster of what’s planned, including links to register for the webinars:

Monday 22 June – Turning Strategy into Reality: Clinical Audit as a Strategic Enabler of the NHS Three Shifts

We’ll start the week by considering how clinical audit and data-informed improvement support the delivery of national and strategic priorities.

10.30am-12pm: Clinical audit is a data-driven, evidence-informed and clinically relevant improvement methodology that plays a critical role in delivering national NHS priorities. This online session will explore how the use of clinical audit and data-informed improvement supports the NHS 10-Year Plan and its three shifts towards prevention, community-based care, and greater use of digital and data, translating strategic ambition into measurable improvements in patient care. Bringing together national insight and real-world delivery, the session will demonstrate how audit programmes help prioritise resources, reduce variation, and improve outcomes. It will also look ahead to the future of clinical audit, including the opportunity to strengthen the profession through the development of an Association of Clinical Audit and Registries (ACAR). REGISTER HERE

12.45pm-1.30pm: Lunchtime Sharing Session: Excellence in Clinical Awards Announcement: Strategic Impact Award 2026 Winner REGISTER HERE

Tuesday 23 June – Patient Involvement and Care Equity: Improved Outcomes for All

True improvement happens when patients are at the heart of everything we do. Today we will explore how involving patients and communities leads to more inclusive, equitable services, helping to tackle healthcare inequalities and ensuring audit reflects the real needs and experiences of those we care for.

10.30am-11.30am: This session will explore patient and public involvement (PPI) in clinical audit and improvement at both local and national levels. Paul Gavin, Deputy Director Equalities and Involvement, People and Communities, NHS England, will consider what the new health and care landscape means for PPI and the wider experience of healthcare, considering the changes to NHS England and the 10-Year Plan. Anita Sehdev, Youth Voice Advisor from The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, will outline engagement work with children and young people that is shaping national clinical audits. The session will also include a panel discussion with Paul, Anita, and members of HQIP’s Service User Network (SUN), Bren McInerney, Community Volunteer and SUN member, and Sadia Mir, SUN member and Equality and Diversity Advocate, who will share their lived experience of involvement work in communities and as advocates for healthcare equality. REGISTER HERE

12.15pm-1pm: Lunchtime Sharing Session: Excellence in Clinical Awards Announcement; Equity and Patient Involvement Award 2026 Winner REGISTER HERE

2pm-3pm: This session will focus on maternity care and the inequities experienced within the system. George Dunn, project lead for the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit, will talk about their work with their Women and Families Involvement Group and how they impact the audit. Plus, a panel discussion featuring MBRRACE-UK representative Nicky Vousden (clinical lecturer and National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit) and four members from HQIP’s Service User Network will share lived experience as parents and in their wider advocacy work: Meg Hill, Birth Worker and HQIP Service User Network member; Riham Lotfi, Community Champion and HQIP Service User Network member; Naomi Rose, HQIP Service User Network member and Expert by Experience; and Al Richards, Dad and HQIP Service User Network member, Person from the Global Majority. REGISTER HERE

Wednesday 24 June – Shaping the Future Together: Innovation and Transformation

10.30am-12pm: Health and care and, with it, clinical audit and approaches to improvement are rapidly evolving, so this day looks to the future. We’ll explore how new tools, approaches, and a skilled, supported workforce are transforming the way data is used to improve healthcare. REGISTER HERE

12.45pm-1.30pm: Lunchtime Sharing Session: Excellence in Clinical Awards Announcement; Innovation Award 2026 Winner REGISTER HERE

Thursday 25 June – Patient Safety: Using Data and Audit to Reduce Harm

10.30am-12pm: This online session, in partnership with Patient Safety Learning, will look at the essential role of robust data and learning from audit in helping identify risks, prevent harm, and build safer systems of care. Drawing on practical examples, the session will explore how data from audits and registries can be used to detect safety signals, understand where harm is occurring, and support action to reduce risk and improve patient safety. REGISTER HERE

This session includes:

Welcome from today’s Chair: Dr Jacqueline Andrews, Executive Medical Director, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust and HQIP Trustee
Using data for safety – A perspective from the Patient Safety Commissioner: Professor Henrietta Hughes OBE, Patient Safety Commissioner
The role of the National Joint Registry in patient safety: Chris Boulton, Director of Operations, National Joint Registry
Using national maternity data to drive patient safety improvement: Faith Sheils, Director of Midwifery, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust
From incident to improvement: using Epilepsy12 data to commission a safer first seizure pathway: Dr Colin Dunkley, Consultant Paediatrician, Sherwood Forest Hospitals, Epillepsy12 Clinical Lead
Update from Patient Safety Learning REGISTER HERE

12.45pm-1.30pm: Lunchtime Sharing Session: Excellence in Clinical Awards Announcement: Patient Safety Award 2026 Winner REGISTER HERE

Friday 26 June – Data-Informed Improvement: From Insight to Impact

10am-12pm (REGISTER HERE) And 1pm-3pm (REGISTER HERE) (includes Excellence in Clinical Audit Awards announcement; Evidence into Practice Award 2026): Our week will conclude with a focus on turning evidence into results, demonstrating how data-driven programmes can improve care and make a lasting difference to patients and services. We will look at how audit and similar programmes support practical action on the ground, helping teams and systems to deliver meaningful change. Hear how national audits, registries, and patient-focused data drive real improvements in care, from strategic outcomes and NICE EVAR alignment to local CAMHS services. Presentations will explore patient perspectives, data quality challenges, and practical lessons from regulators, while a panel and resident doctors share insights on turning audit into meaningful change for patients and services.

10am-12pm This session includes:

Data-Informed Improvement: From Insight to Impact, Dame Celia Ingham Clark, HQIP Chair and former NHS England Deputy Medical Director
From Insight to Impact: What CQC and HSSIB Teach Us About Using Audit Data for Improvement, Professor Ted Baker, Chair of Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB)
Registry to Results: Aligning with the 10-Year Plan and NICE early value assessment to Improve Outcomes, John McGrath, National Clinical Director, Robotics Registry
Seeing Through the Patient Lens: Turning Data and Audit Findings into Meaningful Improvement, Kate Cullen, National Paediatric Diabetes Audit (NPDA) patient representative
Panel Discussion with Ted Baker, John McGrath and Kate Cullen

REGISTER FOR THE MORNING SESSION HERE

1pm-3pm This session includes:

Excellence in Clinical Audit Awards announcement: Evidence into Practice Award 2026
From Data to Practice: How Audit Insights Shape Local CAHMS Care, Tom Hunter, Mental Health Nurse and Plymouth CAHMS
Building the National Audit of Eating Disorders (NAED): Barriers, Data Quality, and Impact on Services, Dr Karina Allan and Philippa Nunn, National Audit of Eating Disorders (NAED)
Resident Doctor Abstract Submission Winner: Turning Audit into Improved Patient Care

REGISTER FOR THE AFTERNOON SESSION HERE

Getting involved and new promotional resources

Clinical Audit Awareness Week is an opportunity for us all to shine a light on clinical audit, outcome review programmes, registries, and other data-driven healthcare improvement. Join events, share your learning, and be part of the conversation about how data can improve healthcare for all. It’s your engagement that makes this national campaign so successful! #CAAW26

NEW PROMOTIONAL RESOURCES: Access a range of resources, from email signatures and screensavers to social media images and printable posters, to help you share awareness of the campaign, the awards and the activities that you are undertaking: 2026 #CAAW toolkit

Stay updated

Newsletter updates: Make sure you are subscribed to HQIP’s monthly eBulletins, where you’ll hear first what’s new.

Social media: Follow HQIP on LinkedIn, BlueSky and X for regular campaign updates. Please tag HQIP and #CAAW26 to share your activities with us too!

HQIP website: Keep checking back for the latest updates, activities, and ways to get involved.