Highlights: Data quality audit

The major focus for the NJR in 2015/16 has been the NJR Data Quality Audit. In July 2015 all trust and health board Chief Executives received a letter from the NJR asking for support in a joint programme of work to ‘quantify, assess, and improve the quality of their NJR trust and health board data’. The aim of the audit was to identify data missing from the NJR. The audit was split into four phases with a planned completion date of the first three phases by 31 March 2016. Phase 4 data quality audits for the independent sector hospitals are planned for 2016/17.

Most of the original letters sent to CEOs did not receive a response and it was through the efforts of the NJR’s Regional Coordinators and Regional Clinical Coordinators that trusts and health boards gradually became engaged.  As a result, all trusts and health boards now have a designated ‘NJR Lead’ (a consultant orthopaedic surgeon) through whom all audit activities can be coordinated.
The audit considered hip and knee data only for the period from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015 and, following the extraction, comparison and validation of local data, trusts and health boards were asked to submit missing records or edit existing records.  Following the audit, a comprehensive report was sent to each CEO and NJR Lead.

The lessons learned from the audit will be fed into the plans for the 2016/17 audit which will, for the first time, include independent sector hospitals. For further information about the process and requirements of the audit, information can be found on the NJR website on the ‘Data Quality’ page.  The NJR’s ‘Supporting Data Quality’ strategy is also available as download from the same page.

For the latest information about the outcomes of the audit please refer to the report of the NJR Data Quality Sub-committee.