Latest news: November 2025 eBulletin

27 Nov 2025

The November edition of HQIP’s eBulletin is out now! It features the latest news and updates relating to clinical audit, outcome reviews and data-informed healthcare improvement, including: What’s new?

New case study on using audit to improve postnatal contraception uptake
Updated National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP) outliers policy
Updated guide to managing ethical issues in quality improvement and clinical audit projects
The National Joint Registry (NJR) Quality Data Provider Scheme awards programme

A chance to revisit:

Latest reports and data
NJR Annual Report 2025
Last chance to apply: HQIP’s Medical Director vacancy

In other news:

Pre-market engagement session for Robotically Assisted Surgery Registry
Last chance to apply: FFFAP Scientific Advisory Group member
New NCMD briefing: Deaths of children due to neonatal HSV

Read HQIP’s latest eBulletin here.

Don’t forget to sign up: Keep up to date with our latest news, events and work programmes by subscribing to our mailing list today. You can also follow us on: LinkedIn and X: @HQIP

New resources published November 2025

13 Nov 2025

We are pleased to announce that the following NEW RESOURCES to support improvement in healthcare (reports with data, findings, infographics and recommendations), from HQIP’s audits, registries and programmes, have been published:

Vascular procedures: State of the Nation Report 2025, National Vascular Registry (NVR). Highlights the continuing challenges experienced by NHS vascular services.
Acute limb ischaemia: Risking Life and Limb Report, National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD). A review of the quality of the care provided to adults with acute limb ischaemia (ALI).
Stroke care: State of the Nation Report 2025, Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP). Highlights increasing delays are still evident from the time of stroke onset to hospital arrival.
Maternity: Induction of Labour Snapshot Audit, National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA). Includes findings that one in three women and birthing people had an induction of labour (IOL). Of those who were induced, one in three gave birth by caesarean.
Joint replacement: Annual Report 2025, National Joint Registry (NJR). NJR’s 22nd Annual Report which includes full analysis of hip, knee, shoulder, elbow and ankle joints.
Child mortality: Child Death Review data release 2025, National Child Mortality Database (NCMD). This data release summarises information about child deaths in England up to 31 March 2025, and the findings of reviews carried out by a Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) on or before 31 March 2025.

All reports: All HQIP-commissioned reports can be accessed via our dedicated reports webpage. Stay up to date: Join our mailing list to receive notifications when new reports are published.

Updated guide on ethics in QI and clinical audit

5 Nov 2025

HQIP is pleased to share that the guide to managing ethical issues in quality improvement and clinical audit projects has now been updated. Derived from an extensive search and analysis of published literature on ethics and quality improvement or clinical audit carried out by Healthcare Quality Quest, it describes:

What’s involved in ethics and how ethical principles may apply
Why healthcare organisations should provide for ethical oversight
The difficulty in distinguishing between a research and a QI or clinical audit project as the basis for ethical review.

In summary, this guide states that ethical principles applied to the concept of QI should require every project, clinical audit or service evaluation to meet the following criteria:

Favourable benefit/risk balance
Scientifically valid
Equitable and reflecting priorities
Value
Awareness of conflict of obligation to patients.

It also contains a summary of the types of ethical actions for QI, clinical audit and service evaluation, as well as top tips for the successful management of ethical issues. Read in full: You can access the updated guide here. Don’t forget to sign up: Keep up to date with HQIP’s latest news, events and work programmes by subscribing to our mailing list today. You can also follow us on LinkedIn and X: @HQIP.

National Joint Registry Annual Report 2025

4 Nov 2025

The National Joint Registry (NJR), hosted by HQIP, has published its 22nd Annual Report, which covers the period from 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025. Available online, via the NJR website, it contains full analysis of hip, knee, shoulder, elbow and ankle joints (with individual sections for each joint also available), and shows a continued reduction in joint revision surgery; evidence that implants are lasting longer, and that outcomes for patients have improved year-on-year. Having collected data since April 2003, with the purpose of improving patient outcomes following surgery, the Registry has now recorded over 4.5 million procedures. As a result of the increasing volume and quality of data, it is possible to make more accurate analysis available, acting as both a safeguard and a springboard, protecting patients today and shaping the orthopaedic care of tomorrow. As such, the NJR has been described as “the jewel in the crown of patient safety initiatives” by then National Medical Director of NHS England, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, and as a “global exemplar of an implantable medical device registry” by Baroness Cumberlege. Access the online NJR report: NJR Annual Report website

Don’t forget to sign up: Keep up to date with HQIP’s latest news, events and work programmes by subscribing to our mailing list today. You can also follow us on LinkedIn and X: @HQIP.