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11 years of the National Audit of Pulmonary Hypertension

The latest data shows specialist PH centres are continuing to meet or exceed key targets

The UK National Audit of Pulmonary Hypertension (NAPH) is the largest audit of pulmonary hypertension in the world. The audit was created in 2009 to collect and report on data across all specialist PH centres in the UK, with the aim of improving patient care and informing future service planning. In previous years, performance against audit standards has been evaluated based on individual centres. However, due to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, this time standards have been evaluated at a national level instead.

Professor David Kiely is lead clinician for the National Audit of PH. He said:

The national audit has demonstrated that the UK network of specialist pulmonary hypertension centres continues to provide high quality care. This is despite the impact that the nationwide lockdown in March 2020 had on elective hospital services. The data in this report should provide reassurance to patients and their families. The continued success of the audit reflects the hard work of many individuals. I would like to thank everyone for submitting data despite many competing pressures, the team at NHS Digital for their flexibility, and our on-going partnership with the UK Patients’ Association (PHA UK), which has ensured that the audit remains relevant at time of increasing change in healthcare provision. It is reassuring that during a national emergency data quality has remained high and excellent standards of care have been maintained.

At the PHA UK we played an important part in the creation of the audit by funding its first year. Since then, we have continued to provide support and advice. Every year we bring you the key findings in a clear and understandable way. And this time, we were asked to provide anonymous patient quotes about some of the areas being audited for the NHS’s own report - another way we ensure your voices are heard. It’s very encouraging to see that, despite the challenges of the last 12 months, the specialist centres have continued to provide excellent care. The audit is delivered by NHS Digital and commissioned by NHS England. It is also supported by NHS Scotland, NHS Wales (GIG Cymru), and the National Pulmonary Hypertension Centres of United Kingdom and Ireland Physicians’ Committee. A word of reassurance about your data NHS Digital collects information about you and your treatment to track your care wherever you receive it. The data within the published audit is anonymised, which means that a patient cannot be identified because their personal information is removed. If you do not want your information to be used in future audits, please contact NHS Digital by emailing enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk or calling 0300 303 5678. They will talk you through the process of having your data removed. Please be assured that this will not affect your treatment and care in any way.

THE FINDINGS

All eight specialist centres in England and Scotland submitted data, with the audit covering the period between 1st April 2019 and 31st March 2020. The four findings below were... were selected by people with PH as the most important to them and the percentages shown are an average across the centres. The percentage circled is the professionally agreed standard that the centres are expected to meet. The full National Audit of Pulmonary Hypertension, including all the findings, is available by visiting www.digital. nhs.uk/pubs/naph11

How many patients taking PH specific drugs have had a least one annual consultation at a specialist PH centre?

96%90% TARGET

How many patients, who have had at least one consultation in the last year, have had a quality of life questionnaire recorded during that time? 94% 90% TARGET