Annual General Meeting Review

The NHS Benchmarking Network's 2025 Annual General Meeting took place virtually on Monday 16th June, providing a comprehensive overview of the Network’s progress and future direction. NHS Benchmarking Network Steering Group Chair, Sam Wilde, Chief Finance Officer,
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust welcomed attendees and highlighted the organisation’s core values - Excellence, Respect, and Integrity - alongside updates on leadership changes and ongoing recruitment for a Home Nations Steering Group representative.

Emma Bamber, Associate Director - Member Programme, presented the 2024/25 work programme, showcasing strong member engagement with nearly 900,000 data points collected and 197 member organisations participating. Priorities for the upcoming year include enhancing productivity, addressing health inequalities, and leveraging technology for benchmarking and data validation.

A significant development was the announcement of Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust as the new host organisation, taking over from East London NHS Foundation Trust.

Thank you to East London NHS Foundation Trust for their contributions that have been instrumental in advancing out projects and supporting stakeholders.

The meeting concluded with a presentation from Kevin Fisher, Head of Business Intelligence & Reporting, Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust on the practical application of benchmarking to improve patient outcomes, underlining the value of data-driven improvement in health care delivery.

Thank you to all our members that were able to attend.  For those unable to make it live the recording is available on the members’ area.

Whole Business Team Day Focuses on Customers and Collaboration

The NHS Benchmarking Network held a whole business team day on 10th June, bringing the full team together for a productive and energising session focused on development and team collaboration.

The day began with a business update, providing colleagues with a comprehensive overview of NHSBN’s current progress and future direction.

Understanding our Customers with The Foundation
We were delighted to welcome The Foundation, a consultancy that helps organisations understand and connect with their customers. The thought-provoking session explored how we define our customers and how we can map their decision-making journeys. Through discussions, the session encouraged us to reflect on who our customers are, how they engage with our services, and how we can better meet their needs.

Lego Building Masters
To inject energy and creativity into the day, EML Team Building led a fun and challenging Lego Master Builders activity. This exercise challenged our problem-solving, collaboration, and communication skills in a unique and light-hearted way. It offered a great opportunity for cross-team engagement and reminded us of the power of teamwork.

The day was a great opportunity to pause and align around our shared goals and purpose. Thank you to The Foundation and EML Team Building for supporting a dynamic and inspiring session.

NHS Benchmarking Network Announces Change of Network Host

The NHS Benchmarking Network is pleased to announce that Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust (NCH&C) will become our new Network Host, taking over from East London NHS Foundation Trust. This transition was formally announced at our AGM yesterday.​

We would like to express our thanks to East London NHS Foundation Trust for their exceptional support and partnership during their tenure as our Host. Their contributions have been instrumental in advancing our projects and supporting our stakeholders.

Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust will officially take on the role as our Network Host in August 2025. This transition marks an exciting new chapter for the Network as we continue to grow and evolve, further enhancing our benchmarking capabilities and expanding our support for members.​ Keep an eye out for future news introducing Norfolk Community Health and Care Trust, providing insights into their role and vision for the Network moving forward.​

We look forward to this new partnership and the opportunities it will bring.

If you have any questions regarding this transition, please check out our FAQs below or reach out to us.

FAQs

• What does this change mean for current members, stakeholders and participants? Will there be any disruptions?

  There will be no disruption or change to the current service and experience. Moving forward, invoices will be issued by Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust. Members will receive instructions to set up the Trust as a supplier ahead of the next membership year.

• When does Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust officially take over as host?

  Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust will officially take over as host on 8th August 2025.

• Will the team managing NHSBN remain the same after the transition?

  Yes, the NHSBN Support Team will remain the same.

• Will there be changes to the way data is managed and stored?

  All current processes and policies remain. Norfolk Community Health & Care Trust will replace East London Foundation Trust as the data controller.

• How do I get in touch if I have any questions during the transition?

  If you have any questions, please contact enquiry@nhsbenchmarking.nhs.uk.

NACEL Celebrated in National Awards!

The National Audit for Care at the End of Life (NACEL) is in the spotlight this week, as part of a national campaign to underline the importance of clinical audit in improving patient care. The audit has been announced as a joint winner in the Communicating for Impact category of the Clinical Audit Heroes awards, an integral part of Clinical Audit Awareness Week. 

We are delighted to be awarded this Clinical Audit Heroes commendation, which recognises the range of innovative communication methods used to demonstrate the audit’s impact. By taking an evidence-informed approach to improvement, clinical audits help to target change where it will have the greatest impact. We recognise the hard work of staff in the Trusts and Health Boards who contribute to NACEL to make it such a valuable source of data to inform improvement work. To read more about the impact that NACEL has at a local level, take a look at our Impact Compendium

Clinical Audit Awareness Week is hosted by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) in collaboration with the quality improvement network N-QI-CAN, and has run this year from 2nd-6th June. It is designed to celebrate the role of clinical audit and quality improvement in improving healthcare services. 

More specifically, clinical audits review and measure healthcare, often in relation to local and national standards and targets. They are an effective way to determine if services are performing as they should and, if not, identify where changes are needed. They also help healthcare providers and patients alike to understand how their service is performing, and where improvements would have the greatest impact. As such, the work of clinical audit teams is essential, both as drivers of improvement in their own organisations and in supporting scrutiny of our health system at a national level.  

“Without clinical audit, we would lack the necessary insights to understand what is working well and, crucially, what is not. By measuring our healthcare services and tracking the differences that improvement activities make, clinical audits support us to maximise resources, and so contribute to saving and improving patients’ lives.”

— Chris Gush, CEO of HQIP

For more information on the national clinical audits that are commissioned by HQIP on behalf of the NHS, go to www.hqip.org.uk/national-programmes.To see the findings from this work, view the reports published on a wide range of clinical disciplines, ranging from asthma and diabetes to cancer and cardiovascular disease.  

Find out more about Clinical Audit Awareness Week and the Clinical Audit Heroes awards on the HQIP website. You can also join in the celebrations on social media using #CAAW25. 

Sarah Atkinson to step back from Director role at NHS Benchmarking Network

We would like to announce that Sarah Atkinson will be stepping back from her role as Director of the NHS Benchmarking Network. Sarah will continue to support the team in an ambassador role, thus gaining some precious time to spend with her family.

Since joining NHSBN in 2020, Sarah has played a pivotal role in shaping and advancing our benchmarking programmes, driving improvements across health and care services, and strengthening collaborations. Sarah’s leadership and vision have had a lasting impact on the organisation and our members, participants, and stakeholders.​ A big part of this has been developing a talented team, who led by the Senior Leadership Team, remains committed to delivering high-quality programmes of work and maximising the impact the Network has.

We extend our sincere gratitude to Sarah for her dedication and continued contribution. 

Statement from the NHS Benchmarking Network

Following the recent announcement from NHS England, we would like to reassure our members that the NHS Benchmarking Network member programme operates independently from NHS England. While we work closely with NHS England and are commissioned to deliver a number of projects on their behalf, the NHS Benchmarking Network Member Programme is not affected by the recent changes. We have been supporting NHS organisations for almost 30 years and have remained a consistent and reliable partner through numerous NHS restructures and will continue to provide the same level of service moving forward.

We are fully committed to continuing our work with members during this period of change, ensuring you gain the maximum value from your membership.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at enquiry@nhsbenchmarking.nhs.uk

CVDPREVENT in Dublin: The team present at the National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA) conference

NHSBN’s audit team is part of a clinical audit community, with teams across the world collecting and reporting clinical data with the aim of improving services and care for patients. Together, we can share our successes, discuss our challenges and collaborate, in order to perfect what we do and innovate new processes. That’s exactly what we were able to do when NOCA invited the CVDPREVENT team to join them and present at their annual conference.

About NOCA and their annual conference

NOCA manages national clinical audits in Ireland that aim to improve patient care and outcomes. NOCA’s findings enable the healthcare system to act to improve care where standards are not followed. Each audit focuses on a unique area of healthcare such as hip fracture, major trauma, hospital mortality, ICU care and joint replacements.

The team at NOCA run an annual conference with the theme for 2025 stated as ‘Data-Driven Healthcare: Planning, Delivering, Improving’. This in-person event is an excellent opportunity to network with individuals and teams that work with clinical data and understand the impact it can have.

Presenting the CVDPREVENT audit: a topic that’s close to our hearts

The CVDPREVENT team were delighted to be invited to present at the conference in Dublin in February 2025. Just a short journey over from Manchester, the team hopped on a flight to Dublin to visit the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland where the conference was held.

Opportunities like this give us a moment to reflect on the process of setting up projects such as CVDPREVENT, England’s national clinical audit of cardiovascular disease prevention in primary care. There were definitely challenges along the way as we navigated the collection of data from millions of patients as well as the development and design of a reporting tool with a wide range of users. Being able to share what we did and how we overcame barriers is a great reminder of how far we have come and makes us revisit our aspirations!

As a team, it’s important for us to refocus on our overall goal to use data to support the prevention of CVD in England. We know how much this matters to patients and carers who have lived experiences of CVD, a condition that can often have a sudden and substantial impact on individuals and their friends and family. At the NOCA conference we were able to share our insights into CVD prevention and highlight where our data shows opportunities for improvement.

Learning from others

The NOCA conference was a fantastic opportunity for us to learn from others and talk to like-minded people who have experience with clinical audit and data. We would like to thank the NOCA team for inviting us to such an insightful event, inspiring us to continue to innovate and develop our clinical audits!

Launching 2025/26: Explore our vision, objectives and opportunities for members

As we kick off the 2025/26 year, we have refreshed our vision and objectives to align with the evolving needs of our members and the wider health and care landscape.

Our vision, values and objectives support our governance structure for the effective and efficient operation of the Network.

Click on the sections below to see our vision, values and objectives for 2025/26.

• Vision

  To enable members to improve patient outcomes, raise health standards and deliver sustainable quality health and care services through data excellence, benchmarking and the sharing of innovation.

• Values

  • Excellence – Always striving to be the best we can be, in everything we do

  • Respect – Value everyone, acknowledge members’ unique experiences, work together to deliver improvement

  • Integrity – Be transparent, be realistic, be honest

• Objectives

  1. Put our members, stakeholders and participants at the heart of who we are, building and maintaining the Network’s reputation for excellence.​

  2. Work together, enabling curiosity by ensuring strong connections with and between stakeholders, creating benchmarking communities through education and positive relationships.​

  3. Actively seek to build a sustainable Network through value for money, relevant and meaningful insight and support.​

  4. Provide additional opportunities for members and stakeholders to gain bespoke support and insight into relevant priority areas, building on the core benchmarking programmes.​

  5. Make data validity and reliability the core of our work programmes to support finding the answer to the ‘so what’ question.​

  6. Maximise project participation and engagement, ensuring that data collections are appropriate and proportionate.​

  7. Develop new solutions by investing in technology to the benefit of all stakeholders.

2025/26 member programme

The 2025/26 member programme is now live! Projects are open for registration via the members’ area, and for some, data collection will begin imminently. Be sure to check the programme timetable for key project dates.

If you missed our programme launch webinar in March, you can watch the recording anytime in the members’ area.

2024/25 year in numbers

This year we’ve welcomed new member organisations, seen thousands of users actively accessing our members' area, and delivered impactful projects and resources. From hosting well-attended events to launching new tools and sharing valuable insights, our members have demonstrated a commitment to collaboration and innovation. The impressive participation in knowledge and code sharing highlights the collective effort to drive progress. Take a look at our year in numbers…

Not a member? Join the NHS Benchmarking Network to gain access to our benchmarking projects, data insights, and networking opportunities. Our member programme helps organisations improve services, drive innovation and share best practice.

Get in touch today to find out how your organisation can benefit.