Provision and quality assurance for head and neck cancer care

In 1998, the British Association of Head and Neck Oncologists (BAHNO) published a report entitled ‘Provision and quality assurance for head and neck cancer care in the United Kingdom. A nationally co-ordinated multidisciplinary approach’. This document considered, amongst other issues, operational policies for patient care. We audited three aspects of the care of 73 patients with head and neck cancer from initial referral to definitive treatment against standards set out in this report. Fifty-nine patients (81%) were seen within two weeks of initial referral, the maximum interval proposed by the BAHNO report. In 41 patients (56%), the diagnosis was confirmed and their treatment plan determined within the further two-week period suggested in the report. Of the 25 patients who required adjuvant radiotherapy, only 11 (44%) began treatment within six weeks of their surgical phase; this represented the greatest variance from the BAHNO recommendations. These findings highlight the need for units active in the treatment of specific diseases to audit their activity against available minimum standards in an attempt to improve the quality of patient care.