New NHS internal audit standards have been published by the Department of Health and take effect from 1 April 2011.
National Early Warning Score (NEWS)
Early detection, timeliness and competency of clinical response are a triad of determinants of clinical outcome in people with acute illness. At present, NHS Trusts use different early warning systems with different charts. This new national Early Warning Score has the potential to save up to 6000 lives.
Stomach and Oesophageal cancer audit reveals increased survival rates
This National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Audit of more than 17,000 patients in England and Wales diagnosed between October 2007 and June 2009 found that nearly 50% of patients with stomach tumours and around 45% of patients with an oesophageal tumour were still alive three years after diagnosis. Ten years ago, only about ⅓ of patients survived longer than three years.
Outdated theatre equipment lags behind growth in keyhole surgery operations
An audit of UK laparoscopic – or keyhole surgery - operating theatres has revealed that while 49 per cent of operating theatres meet sufficient equipment standards, only 15 per cent of theatres meet the highest levels of equipment safety and design. The Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ALSGBI)₁ found that 85 per cent of hospitals do not yet have ‘fully integrated’ theatres which could make surgery more efficient and safer for patients.
Changes to NHSLA Risk Management Standards and Assessments
The NHSLA will only undertake assessments in the following circumstances in 2013/14: where a Trust requests an assessment; where a Trust has failed an assessment in 2012/13 or where it has a significant concern; because maternity is a high risk area, it will continue to assess Trusts at Level 2 or 3 in the CNST maternity standards that are due to be assessed.
The safer management of controlled drugs: Annual report 2011
The fifth annual report on the governance of controlled drugs, looking at the data collected from 2011, and published by the CQC includes tools to help NHS Trusts assess their performance in controlled drugs governance in order to identify any gaps and drive improvement.
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