News
Results of the National non-Hodgkin lymphoma audit report
Lymphoma Action is excited to be supporting an NHS project that could have huge implications for how people are treated and cared for by the NHS in England and Wales.
The National Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Audit (NNHLA), which is part of the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NATCAN), is carrying out the first national audit to evaluate the patterns of care and outcomes for people diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in England and Wales. By looking at what the data* tells us about people’s experiences to date it will make recommendations that could have far-reaching consequences.
Lymphoma Action’s role
Having the patient voice represented is an important aspect which the NHL audit team take seriously. This is one of the reasons why Lymphoma Action are involved and supporting NATCAN with this work. We are delighted to Chair the steering group, and to have one of our volunteers, Frank Burroughs, as Chair of the Patient and Public Involvement Forum.
“The national audit is a statistics-based quality improvement project that has the potential to make a big impact and it’s fantastic to be involved with it. Frank Burroughs.
“Patient and public involvement is key to making sure we are asking the right questions and therefore will find the answers that will help thousands of people who are diagnosed with lymphoma every year. Dr Cathy Burton, one of the two clinical leads in the project and a Lymphoma Action trustee, St James’s University Hospital, Leeds.
State of the Nation report 2024
An interim report, based on the audit, was published on 12 September 2024. Here are a few highlights of the results.
A crucial finding is that more comprehensive recording of data will shine a light on what factors are leading to variation in treatment – why, for example, there are delays in starting chemotherapy in some places. By highlighting these variations and then looking at the factors leading to them, we hope that improvements can be made so everyone gets the prompt and effective treatment and care they need.
Patient and Public Summary report 2024
The State of the Nation report is written for providers of NHS services, health care regulators, and medical professional associations to see what the data is telling them about their particular locality. A Patient and Public Summary report will be published this month. We will be sharing a link to the report in our email newsletters and social media posts when it is available.
*The audit analyses a number of existing national cancer data sets. The results for England cover the care received by people diagnosed with NHL in 2020 and 2021, using the ‘gold-standard’ cancer registration dataset linked to Hospital Episode Statistics/Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy/Radiotherapy Data Set/Office for National Statistics mortality data. The results for Wales cover people diagnosed with NHL during 2022, using the main cancer registration dataset linked to the Patient Episode Database for Wales/Office for National Statistics mortality data.
