Audit and Quality Assurance

Audit

A key function of the NTPF is auditing public hospitals to provide clear, independent and objective assurance on hospital waiting lists. We do this to establish if waiting lists are being managed in line with national protocols and if waiting list data returned to the NTPF is in adherence with national reporting requirements.

We conduct compliance audits, and adhere to the principles of integrity, objectivity, competency, due professional care and confidentiality in the conduct of all audit activities.

We deliver individualised hospital audit reports inclusive of key findings and recommendations for implementation in line with national protocols. We also deliver annual Audit programme overview reports which draw together cumulative key findings and key trends from all hospitals audited.

Through our Audits we also identify good practices, share insights through our reports to facilitate positive changes and improvements in waiting list management.

Audit FAQs are answered on the Information For Healthcare Providers FAQs page.

The purpose of our audits is to:

Establish whether hospitals are effectively managing their waiting lists in line with national protocols
Identify issues which impact on the accuracy of the waiting list data and common trends affecting national reporting
Make evidence-based recommendations based on generated findings for individual hospitals to improve data accuracy and hospital compliance with national protocols and reporting requirements
Promote standardisation of hospital waiting list management practices nationally
Foster a culture of continuous quality improvement in waiting list management practices and data management to enhance administrative efficiencies in the delivery of timely and equitable access to care for patients

Examination of Reported Irregularities

The Examination of Reported Irregularities (ERI) is another key area of work in the Audit and Quality Assurance (AQA) function within the NTPF. The ERI programme was designed to build upon ongoing weekly variance and data quality checks undertaken by the NTPF ICT department on all waiting list information submitted by public hospitals to the NTPF with a specific role for AQA in relation to apparent irregularities, requiring further examination.

ERIs may occur when the AQA Team accepts a referral from a stakeholder (e.g. NTPF ICT, NTPF Commissioning and Validation colleagues) where a more in-depth examination and analysis of waiting list data and/or waiting list management operational processes is required.

The aim of the ERI Programme is to improve data quality and hospital compliance with national waiting list management protocols and reporting requirements.

The scope of the ERI programme currently includes Inpatient, Day Case, Planned Procedures, GI Endoscopy, and Outpatient waiting lists submitted by public hospitals to the NTPF. It encompasses a detailed review of data accuracy and completeness of waiting list data submissions for national waiting list reporting.

ERI FAQs are answered on the Information For Healthcare Providers FAQs page.

The Purpose of the ERI Programme is to:

Examine if hospitals are returning complete, accurate waiting list data in line with national waiting list reporting requirements
Establish if hospital waiting list management operational practices are compliant with national waiting list management protocols
Examine reported issues impacting on reported waiting list volumes, categorisations and patient wait times, seeking hospital review and remedial action where required
Gain assurance over the quality of the data that is returned to the NTPF for national reporting