NHS England announces national ovarian cancer audit

NHS England have confirmed that the future of the ovarian cancer audit is secure, with the announcement that it is one of five new cancer audits to be commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP). This will take forward the model established by the ovarian cancer audit feasibility pilot, funded by the British Gynaecological Cancer Society, Target Ovarian Cancer and Ovarian Cancer Action and delivered by analysts working at the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service.

The pilot has made use of cancer data items routinely collected, thus creating a more nimble form of audit, which HQIP will now replicate. This announcement is the result of years of campaigning by all three organisations, alongside demonstrating the feasibility of an ovarian cancer audit with the pilot. It shows what can be achieved by joint working and how much stronger we are when we act together.

The pilot is now entering its third and final year. Its outputs include profile and treatment reports, which can be found here, and it is now focusing on surgery, as well as updating the previous reports to include 2019 data. The evidence generated by the pilot is already making a difference to clinical practice and pathways; embedding this as a permanent audit has the potential to be truly transformative in the treatment of the disease and outcomes for women with ovarian cancer.

We also continue to work closely with colleagues in Wales and Northern Ireland to establish audits here, as well as liaising with colleagues in Scotland to ensure maximum learning from the Scottish Quality Performance Indicators.

Andy Nordin, Chair of the ovarian cancer audit feasibility pilot steering group said “This is truly fantastic news. It was always our goal to create a model that NHS England could then take forward, ensuring that the data is there that enables all of us to focus on achieving the world-class services that women with ovarian cancer deserve. We look forward to working with HQIP and sharing our learnings from the pilot as they develop the specification for the new audit.”