National Clinical Audit Benchmarking launches: Trust-by-Trust results for six key audits

Published: 19 Nov 2017

Today (20 November 2017) sees the launch of National Clinical Audit Benchmarking (NCAB) – an online portal which for the first time brings together trust-by-trust results for six key specialties set against individual national benchmarks.

These at-a-glance results are drawn from national clinical audits, and mark a dynamic step-change in how these powerful resources are harnessed and presented.

NCAB has been created to enhance the way medical directors, regulators, local clinical audit teams and others engage, interact with and share clinical audit data. Following a diligent three-month test and evaluation period, in conjunction with Trust medical directors, CQC and others, NCAB launches with the results of six national audits:

  • Bowel cancer (Royal College of Surgeons)
  • Hip fracture (Royal College of Physicians)
  • Intensive care (ICNARC)
  • Lung cancer (Royal College of Physicians)
  • OGC audit (Royal College of Surgeons)
  • Vascular (Royal College of Surgeons

As well as a powerful tool for clinicians, managers, audit staff and patients, NCAB slides now also form part of CQC inspection packs.

HQIP medical director Professor Danny Keenan commented:

“National clinical audits are unique, providing the best evidence regarding effectiveness of healthcare services. Nationally and locally clinical audits offer quality assurance, increasingly support improvement and, through NHS Choices and MyNHS, key information for patients, public and regulators.

“However, we know we can improve further. For instance it can sometimes take a lot of effort to look through national audit reports and find local information. NCAB provides easy to access national clinical audit data. This will be very useful to medical directors, clinical directors and local clinical audit staff interested in understanding their performance locally and easily identifying areas for improvement or positive performance to celebrate.”

NHS England national medical director, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh commented:

“National clinical audits based on clinical data are our best way of assuring the effectiveness and safety of services. Despite this, results have not always been easily accessible. Today the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) is launching National Clinical Audit Benchmarking (NCAB) which will transform the accessibility of this data for leaders of quality improvement in hospitals.”

Background: NCAB pilot

In 2016 HQIP piloted data from six audit projects, with eight Trusts in the Greater Manchester region plus academics from the Greater Manchester Academic Health Science Network (GMAHSN), garnering feedback on the content and layout of the example data and its visual representation.
See feedback report from the pilot

Background: Medical director testing

In April 2017, HQIP provided all Trust medical directors with secure access to their Trust’s results for awareness, checking and feedback, which enabled us to update the platform ahead of launch.

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