Quality standard

Quality statement 3: Publishing information about areas of expertise

Quality statement 3: Publishing information about areas of expertise

Quality statement

Sarcoma multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) publish information about their shared pathways, activity and patient outcomes, including information on site‑specific sarcomas.

Rationale

Sarcoma MDTs should increase awareness of their pathways and arrangements to treat sarcomas, and their patient outcomes and activity. This will demonstrate their expertise and help commissioners to identify which sarcoma MDTs are best suited to treat particular sarcoma types and help in making decisions about referrals.

Quality measures

The following measures can be used to assess the quality of care or service provision specified in the statement. They are examples of how the statement can be measured, and can be adapted and used flexibly.

Structure

Evidence of local arrangements for sarcoma MDTs to publish information about shared pathways, activity and patient outcomes, including information on site‑specific sarcomas.

Data source: Local data collection.

What the quality statement means for different audiences

Service providers (sarcoma MDTs) ensure arrangements are in place for the publication of information about their shared pathways, activity and patient outcomes, including information for site‑specific sarcomas. This may involve working in collaboration with NHS England specialised services, specialist centres and the NHS England Sarcoma Clinical Reference Group.

Healthcare professionals ensure that they collect data and publish activity and patient outcome data, including information for site‑specific sarcomas.

Commissioners ensure that they commission services that publish details of their arrangements with site‑specific cancer MDTs to manage site‑specific sarcomas, and that also collect and publish activity and patient outcome data, including information for site‑specific sarcomas.

People with sarcoma (a rare type of cancer that develops in a bone or in soft tissue such as muscle or fat) can see how different sarcoma multidisciplinary teams (specialist teams of healthcare professionals who have training and experience in caring for people with sarcoma) treat their particular type of sarcoma, which may help them decide on the best sarcoma multidisciplinary team to treat them.

Source guidance

Improving outcomes for people with sarcoma. NICE guideline CSG9 (2006), section 5: improving treatment: sarcoma multidisciplinary teams (page 54) and section 10: improving knowledge (page 96)

Definitions of terms used in this quality statement

Activity and patient outcomes

Activity and patient outcomes for sarcoma MDTs include:

  • number of new cases per annum

  • local recurrence rates

  • patient experience of care

  • treatment morbidity and physical function

  • survival rates.

[Definition developed from expert consensus; adapted from NICE's guideline on improving outcomes for people with sarcoma]

Site-specific sarcomas

Site‑specific sarcomas include gynaecological sarcomas, head and neck sarcomas, retroperitoneal and pelvic sarcomas, chest wall or intrathoracic sarcomas, skin sarcomas, central nervous system sarcomas, gastrointestinal stromal tumours, urological sarcomas and breast sarcomas. [Definition developed from expert consensus; adapted from NICE's guideline on improving outcomes for people with sarcoma]