Welcome to the Clinical Audit Support Centre
CASC/HQIP 2013 junior doctor competition launched
The Clinical Audit Support Centre are delighted to announce that we are now accepting entries for the 2013 Junior Doctor Clinical Audit of the Year competition. The 2013 competition marks the 4th year of the awards and we are delighted to announce that the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership are joining us as partners for 2013. In addition to the annual clinical audit competition we are also extending the awards this year to include a broader ‘quality improvement’ award category. The extension of the competition acknowledges that many junior doctors engage in a wide range of quality improvement initiatives (not just clinical audit) and we welcome entries for both categories. Full details of how to enter both competitions are available by clicking here. Entries must be received by the end of August and the Finals Day will take place in Leicester in November 2013.
Clinical Audit Barometer measurements set for release
Many of you will be aware that the Clinical Audit Tools website features a barometer that allows teams to assess if they have the fundamentals in place to conduct effective clinical audit. To use the barometer, respondents provide ratings (from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’) in relation to 10 questions. We have now had the chance to review the data submitted in 2012 and the findings are intriguing. Across the 10 statements, respondents scored most highly in relation to ‘Linking clinical audit projects to clinical governance initiatives’ (4.01) and ‘having a team member trained in clinical audit methodologies’ (3.84). At the other end of the scale, respondents scored least well in response to ‘senior staff engaging in clinical audit’ (3.09) and ‘patients being involved in the audit process’ (2.69). More detailed data from the barometer will be released very soon and if you would like to test this out in relation to your own working environment, please click here.
SEA Masterclass training date released
CASC are delighted to announce that we will be running our accredited one-day SEA Masterclass in Leicester on 9th July 2013. Significant Event Audit has been gaining momentum within healthcare over the last few years and it is now a mandatory part of revalidation. Revalidation guidance published by the General Medical Council states clearly that doctors must record and report significant events, reflect on events and identify lessons learnt, plus actions must be implemented to prevent such events or incidents from happening again. CASC have previously worked with the NPSA and the Royal College of General Practice on significant event audit initiatives and we have experience of evaluating the delivery of SEA and of providing training to ensure SEA follows agreed best practice. Training is provided in Leicester, but can also be delivered as part of protected learning time sessions or in-house training. For more details on the content of the course, click here.
Important documents released by HQIP
In April 2013, HQIP released a number of key documents that will be of considerable interest to those with a remit for clinical audit. The excellent ‘Statutory and mandatory requirements for clinical audit’ document has been updated and now includes details of the 2013/14 NHS Standard Contract, information on the NHS Licence by Monitor and changes to the Foundation Trust Annual Report and a review of NHSLA Clinical Negligence schemes. To access the document, click here. In addition, HQIP have developed a live Quality Accounts resource that now includes information on the NHS Outcomes Framework domain. Click here to find out more.
CASC provide interim audit support to healthcare teams
On 1st February, CASC formally launched their new interim clinical audit support service. The service is aimed at helping teams and organisations that need short-term clinical audit support. This may be to assist with a staff vacancy/maternity leave, provide support on a time-limited project (such as a local or national audit), assist in conducting independent work (that may be requested by a local commissioner or national body such as the CQC), etc. If you need support, guidance, training or expertise in clinical audit and wider quality improvement techniques please contact the CASC team. We also hold longer-term service-level agreements with NHS teams that benefit from our guidance and expertise and who find this approach ensures continuity and a cost effective solution. Please contact us to find out more about the services that we offer and how we can assist you. Click here for more details.
Presentation Builder added to CA Tools website
The Clinical Audit Support Centre have added a Presentation Builder to the Clinical Audit Tools website. The Presentation Builder is quick and simple to use and provides a series of powerpoint templates that users can adapt to create their own clinical audit presentations. We hope that the Presentation Builder will encourage those who conduct clinical audits to feedback their work to the widest audience possible. The Presentation Builder is free but we ask those who use it to acknowledge CASC for creating this resource. We have also provided a sample PDF presentation to show how the Presentation Builder can be used to report local clinical audit projects. To access the Presentation Builder, click here.
Need clinical audit help? Join the distance-learning course
In recent years more and more healthcare professionals are being encouraged to participate in clinical audit activity. Medics are now expected to carry out high quality clinical audit for revalidation and appraisal purposes while junior doctors must conduct annual audit projects. Healthcare professionals and commissioners are increasingly asked to conduct clinical audit projects but most lack time, support and expertise to carry out effective and complete projects that improve patient care. CASC’s accredited distance-learning course is designed to make clinical audit simple, easy and as painless as possible for those who need to carry out an audit project. All learners receive a detailed course guide and the support of an expert tutor to teach and advise them. Learners who complete the course not only gain a positive experience of clinical audit but they are also rewarded with a national qualification that provides further evidence of learning, professional development and enhances their CV. To read more about the course, click here. In order to obtain a booking form or to speak to a course tutor call (0116) 264 3411.
Issue 111 of audit jobs bulletin now available
The Clinical Audit Support Centre launched their Clinical Audit Jobs Bulletin in June 2009. Every two weeks we search through all of the clinical audit-related jobs advertised on the NHS jobs website and produce a relevant document that will enable audit professionals to see what jobs are currently available. We list the main descriptors for each role, e.g. employing organisation, job title, salary, location and closing date. We have also noted the job reference number that will allow you to find further details of jobs that you want more information on without spending lots of time searching the entire NHS jobsite database. To download the Jobs Bulletin, click here.
Request your CASC information pack
CASC have developed a series of promotional materials that provides you with more details of the work that we support. The wallet of information includes a set of inserts: Introducing CASC, training and accreditation, support and consultancy, sharing best practice, event management and CASC case studies. The materials provide a great overview of how we work with healthcare professionals to improve the care that they deliver and there are a number of excellent case studies that show how our work has enabled organisations and teams to collaborate with us on ventures that have improved care, assured best practice and saved money. If you would like to receive your copy, please email your name and full postal address to info@clinicalauditsupport.com
Register for the CASC E-News!
Since we launched our E Newsletter in February 2007 over 1,000 healthcare professionals have signed up! The E News is free and delivered direct to your email account every two months. The newsletter provides you with a mix of CASC-related and other clinical audit news to help you keep up to date with what is happening in the world of clinical audit. If you have missed a previous issue of E News please visit the community section of our website where all previous issues are archived. Follow this link to sign up for your copy.