NACEL 2024 Quality Survey results now available

The findings from the bereavement survey (Quality Survey) are now available to view within the NACEL 2024 Data and Improvement Tool (beta).
To gain access to the Tool, please complete the registration form.

Data collection for the Quality Survey remains open until December 2024, and as submissions pour in, the survey findings will be continually updated within the Tool. It's important to note that the results should be interpreted within the context of ongoing quality improvement efforts, considering the evolving dataset.
As we continue to refine and improve the tool's functionality, your feedback and insights will be invaluable in shaping its future iterations. We encourage you to explore the tool and share any suggestions or observations you may have.

For more information about the Tool, please go to the Data and Improvement Tool Guidance page on the NACEL portal.

Participation update

Since the commencement of data collection on January 1st, 2024, we've witnessed enthusiastic participation in the audit.

NACEL 2024 March Update

Reminder of the data collection timescales

We’re nearly a quarter of the way through data collection for NACEL 2024. Here’s a reminder of the timescales for data collection and reporting:

• Quality Survey – Data collection is open continually throughout 2024, results will be released each quarter. Please remember to engage with bereaved people and invite them to return their feedback via the survey.

• Case Note Review – We’re midway through the first data collection window. You have until 30th June to submit data for deaths from Q4 and Q1. In July ’24, results for Q4 and Q1 will be released, and the second data collection window opens.

• Staff Reported Measure – Data collection is open throughout Q1 (April-June). More information can be found below.

• Hospital/Site Overview – Data collection is open throughout Q2 (July-September). We’ll share more information about this audit element before then.

More information about the timescales can be found on the Key Dates page of the NACEL Portal.

Prepare for the Staff Reported Measure (SRM)

With data collection for the Case Note Review and Quality Survey underway, the next audit element, the Staff Reported Measure, will open for data collection on Monday, 1st April.

We advise that you consider how to encourage inpatient staff, who are most likely to come into contact with dying patients and those important to them, to submit their feedback to the online survey from 1st April – 30th June 2024.

To allow organisations to prepare for this phase of the audit, the QR codes and URL links for the survey will be available on the NACEL data collection page of the NHS Benchmarking Network Members’ Area from Monday, 25th March. Each submission has its own QR code/link for the staff survey. A promotional poster template has been produced to encourage participation in the survey.

Update made to SRM question

Following discussions with our Clinical Leadership Team, we want to highlight a small change that has been made to one of the Staff Reported Measure questions.

Question 22 “I am supported to engage in quality improvement (QI) projects and training specific to end of life care” is now “I am supported to engage in quality improvement (QI) projects specific to end of life care”. This change has been made to improve the clarity of the question and to ensure the question aligns with the NACEL 2024 driver diagram. The Staff Survey questionnaire is available to download here.

Reporting: Launch of the Data and Improvement Tool

The first release of the Quality Survey data will soon be available in the new audit reporting tool -  the NACEL Data and Improvement Tool (DIT), which launches on Tuesday, 2nd April!

The Quality Survey findings for your organisation will be shown in chart and table format to support local quality improvement. Access to the tool will be available to all organisations taking part in NACEL.  The Data and Improvement Tool has lots of new features that will give you more insight into your data. To help you make the most of the DIT, we will be:

• Sharing guidance on how to sign up and use the tool,

• Holding drop in sessions in April to answer your questions,

• Creating ‘how to’ videos and FAQ resources

More information about accessing the DIT and navigating through your results will be released on the 2nd April 2024.

What data will be shown in the DIT in April 2024?

Within the DIT released in April 2024, participants will be able to view their own organisations results from the Quality Survey, compared to a regional and national average.

A future development of the DIT will be to remove the anonymity of the organisation’s results, where providers will be able to view other organisation’s findings. This is to support greater transparency in the quality of care at the end of life and will play a key role in delivering quality improvement and promoting shared learning between healthcare providers. The transparency of the results within the DIT will be reviewed ahead of the second data release in July 2024. More information to follow later in the year.

NACEL 2024 – What next?

Firstly, we’d like to thank everybody who attended our warm up event a few weeks ago. We’re thrilled to have welcomed nearly 300 attendees on the call. We hope you found the session worthwhile in helping you prepare for NACEL 2024. If you’d like to rewatch any of the session, you can access the recording and slides through the warm up event page.

At the moment, NACEL registration is in full swing. Data collection for NACEL will be opening on 1st of January 2024. If you haven’t yet registered, now is the time to do so!

Before participating, it’s key to understand some of the key changes that will incorporate NACEL 2024, such as a new reporting tool to easily identify improvement with benchmarking at differing system levels and quality improvement support for audit participants.

We are also delighted to confirm that we’ve increased the accessibility of the Quality Survey. The survey of the bereaved person’s feedback is now available in the 10 main languages spoken in England and Wales, as well as English and Welsh. The translated versions of the Quality Survey can be printed and handed to people to complete. The translated surveys are available here.

You can do a number of things to prepare for NACEL 2024:

• Review the NACEL guidance notes and questionnaires, available to download from the audit guidance page of the website

• We recommend that you suspend local bereavement surveys whilst participating in the  NACEL Quality Survey.

• Consider whether you will implement the NACEL Quality Survey from the 1st of January, and how and when is best to communicate this information e.g., during the collection of the death certificate, via an electronic messaging system, posters, etc. Example Quality Survey promotional resources are available: poster, leaflet and letter.

• If your organisation has a bereavement office, we recommend contacting the team for help and advice.

• Decide whether you will distribute an online Quality Survey link/QR code, or distribute the paper version.

• Explore whether your organisation complies with the national data opt-out and where this information is stored. The national data opt-out is a service that allows patients to opt out of their confidential patient information being used for research and planning. It is the organisation’s responsibility to ensure that the appropriate patient data is submitted to the NACEL 2024 Case Note Review.

Keep an eye out for further communications to be released by the NACEL team.

If you have any questions, please contact the NACEL team here: nhsbn.nacelsupport@nhs.net