A new audit system for head and neck cancers started its roll-out this week in Greater Manchester, Humberside, Lancashire, Merseyside and Cheshire and North Trent. The NHS Information Authority (NHSIA), which devised the audit system for the NHS’s new regulator, the Healthcare Commission, says it is the first time that electronic collection of information about these cancers has occurred on a national scale using a new software package based on software currently used to collect heart treatment audit data. The software will be sent out to hospitals over the next nine months with approximately 20 hospitals joining the audit every month. The aim is to have all relevant hospitals submitting information by January 2005. The audit will provide detailed information on the flow of patients through the system and the treatment they receive. In two or three years’ time, the NHSIA says there will be enough information to track geographical differences in diagnosis, treatment received and survival rates. Jenifer Smith, director of the Healthcare Commission’s clinical audit programme, said: “Currently there is a variation in the level of service offered to patients across the country. The audit will help health professionals to continually measure and improve their work, ensure that clinical standards are met and allow them to compare the processes and outcomes of head and neck cancer care with similar NHS organisations. In turn, this improves patient care.” The NHSIA says that, in addition to sending information for central analysis for the national audit, doctors will be able to use their own secure local copy of the information relating to their patients’ treatment. A record of how many people have been seen in their own hospital, the types of cancers they had and the treatment they received will be available online in this local secure copy. The hope is that the local team’s approach to patient care can be discussed and changes can be made before waiting for the annual national comparative report. Richard Wight, an ear nose and throat surgeon and the chair of the project team commented: “This is an exciting development where head and neck cancer leads the path in comparative audit. The project supports head and neck cancer care clinicians in their aims to compare and improve the care delivered to patients.” Asked why head and neck cancers had been selected for national audit, an NHSIA spokesperson said that the authority was originally commissioned by the Department of Health to work in these areas. The choice of head and neck cancers was based partly on the readiness of the relevant clinical community which already had a working dataset and had prepared the ground.
