NHS England publishes the Quality Accounts list in January every year. This list comprises of national audits and confidential enquires suggested for NHS Trusts to participate, where relevant and where possible.  There is an expectation that all NHS Health care service providers should publish their Quality Account report each year, detailing the quality of their services provided during the previous financial year. 

From a clinical audit perspective, the Quality Accounts report is a summary of the Trust’s participation in national audits and confidential enquires, number of cases they have submitted, teams and services that have participated in various audits and how they have implemented national recommendations locally for continuous sustained improvement and shared learning. Quality Accounts are an important way for local NHS services to report on quality and show improvements in the services they deliver to local communities and stakeholders.

So what happens then you ask?

Once the Quality Accounts list is published, the Clinical Auditteam filter down the list of national audits and confidential enquiries, that are suggested and pertinent our trust which is for Mental Health and Community Care.  This filtered list of national audits will be discussed and reviewed at the Clinical Professional and Advisory Group (CPAG) for review and approval of audits that are suggested for NELFT participation. They are also signposted to teams who can participate and support the delivery of these audits.  There are a total of 24 such national audits and confidential enquiries on the filtered list, this year. We will endeavour to participate and complete the national audits and produce positive outcomes that we can report in the next Quality Accounts report.