HQIP awards Saving Faces contract to deliver National Head and Neck Cancer Audit

Published: 08 Sep 2015

Interim data collection guidance confirmed as part of transition to new supplier

HQIP is pleased to announce the contract to manage the National Head and Neck Cancer Audit has been awarded to facial surgery research organisation Saving Faces.

The move sees Saving Faces take over from the Health and Social Care Information centre and a name change to the Head and Neck Cancer Audit (HANA). Dendrite Clinical Systems will provide informatics.

For full programme details and interim data collection guidance, click here >

The audit will continue to be commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership, on behalf of NHS England and the Welsh Government and as part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP).

Over the next six months, Professor Iain Hutchison, CEO of Saving Faces and the Clinical Lead for HANA will visit each Head and Neck Cancer NHS MDT in England and Wales to describe the vision for the new audit, answer questions, gain feedback and clarify logistical arrangements for participation.

The audit will assess various aspects of patient care including:

  • Structures – such as the availability of on-call consultants to deal with postoperative problems
  • Processes – such as whether a mouth cancer operation took place on the planned date
  • Outcomes – such as the number of cancer patients who remain disease free for five years
  • Saving Faces are working closely with the British Association of Head and Neck Oncologists (BAHNO) and a team of specialists to ensure that HANA focuses on information that is really relevant to patient outcomes.

Professor Iain Hutchison, chief executive and founder of Saving Faces, who will provide the clinical leadership for HANA, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the contract. Our clear aim is to ensure that findings from HANA will contribute to changes in clinical practice and that patients receive the best care possible and experience an improved quality of life.”