A National Statistics Publication

All data contained within this publication are National Statistics, with the exception of Day Case Procedure Centre data and Independent Sector data.

Published by: Information & Analysis Directorate, Department of Health
Statisticians: Jennifer Finlay, Adam Robinson, Ben Simpson & Siobhán Morgan
Contact:

Reporting Period: 1 April 2021 – 31 March 2022
Publication Date: 4 August 2022
Date of Next Publication: 3 August 2023

Coverage: Northern Ireland
Frequency: Annual

Data contained in this publication relate to Health Service commissioned activity at consultant-led outpatient services, either in HSC Hospitals (including virtual appointments) or the Independent Sector, and activity in Integrated Clinical Assessment and Treatment Services (ICATS) during 2021/22. Information is provided on New and Review Attendances, Missed Appointments, Patient Cancellations and Hospital Cancellations. All data are presented by HSC Trust and specialty.

Data detailed in this publication are also available in spreadsheet format to aid secondary analysis, at the following link: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/hospital-statistics-outpatient-activity-statistics-202122

Key Figures

  • There were 328,494 new and 680,540 review face-to-face attendances at consultant-led outpatient services in 2021/22, increases of 54.0% (115,210) and 42.8% (203,926) respectively from 2021/22.
  • There were 341,166 virtual outpatient attendances in 2021/22, a decrease of 24.2% from 2020/21 (449,828) and an increase of 631.3% from 2019/20 (46,649).
  • Patients cancelled 118,255 face-to-face and 10,255 virtual appointments, giving Could Not Attend (CNA) rates of 10.5 and 2.9 respectively. Face-to-face and virtual CNA rates have increased by 2.1 and 1.1 points respectively since 2020/21.
  • Hospitals cancelled 155,987 face-to-face and 47,197 virtual appointments, giving hospital cancellation rates of 13.4 and 12.2 respectively. Face-to-face hospital cancellation rate decreased by 7.0 points while the virtual hospital cancellation rate increased by 1.8 points since 2020/21.
  • Patients missed 93,081 face-to-face and 23,588 virtual appointments, giving Did Not Attend (DNA) rates of 8.4 and 6.5 respectively. Face-to-face DNA rate increased by 1.1 points while the virtual DNA rate decreased by 0.6 points since 2020/21.
  • There were 31,530 attendances at Independent Sector Providers commissioned by the Health Service, an increase of 17,803 since 2020/21.

Attendances and Cancellations Summary

Attendances

Cancellations

The chart below can be filtered to view face-to-face, DPC, Virtual or ICATS cancellations and missed appointments for the last five years.

Patient Attendances

Following an outpatient referral, a patient attends an outpatient appointment to see a consultant, their staff and associated health professionals. Outpatient attendances relate to all appointments with a consultant-led service, irrespective of the location in which the service is provided.

Face-to-face Attendances

  • There were 1,009,034 face-to-face attendances at consultant-led outpatient services in Northern Ireland in 2021/22.
  • This is an increase of 46.3% from 2020/21 (689,898).
  • Of these, 32.6% (328,494) were new attendances, with the remaining 67.4% (680,540) being review attendances.
  • T & O Surgery had the highest number of face-to-face attendances with 127,537.

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Virtual Attendances

A virtual outpatient appointment is a planned contact by a healthcare professional responsible for the care of a patient for the purposes of clinical consultation, advice and treatment planning. Virtual appointments may take the form of a telephone contact, video-link intervention, an email or a letter.

  • There were 341,166 virtual attendances at outpatient services in Northern Ireland in 2021/22.
  • This is a decrease of 24.2% from 2020/21 (449,828) and an increase of 631.3% from 2019/20 (46,649).
  • 25.7% (87,659) were new attendances, with the remaining 74.3% (253,507) being review attendances.

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Day Case Procedure Centre Attendances

In February 2019, prototype ‘Regional Assessment and Surgical Centres’ (now known as Day Case Procedure Centres - DPCs) became operational for the surgical treatment of Cataracts and Varicose Veins. Patients waiting for these procedures can now be referred to a DPC for treatment rather than the hospital site they may have been referred to previously.

  • During 2021/22, a total of 4,784 attendances took place at consultant-led regional centres within Northern Ireland.
  • This is an increase of 3,037 (173.8%) from 2020/21 (1,747).
  • 4,617 of these appointments were for Cataracts and 167 were for Varicose Veins.

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Ward Attendances

A ward attendance is an attendance at a ward for the purpose of examination by a consultant. These patients would not normally be admitted to the hospital.

  • During 2021/22, there were 59,083 ward attendances seen by a consultant.
  • This is an increase of 16.7% from 2020/21 (50,613).

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Independent Sector Attendances

An Independent Sector provider is a private sector healthcare company that is contracted by HSC Trusts in the provision of healthcare or in the support of the provision of healthcare.

  • During 2021/22, 31,530 Health Service patients were seen at Independent Sector providers in Northern Ireland.
  • This was more than double the number seen in 2020/21 (13,727), and almost three times the number seen in 2017/18 (10,643).
  • The Ophthalmology specialty accounted for 24.5% (7,721) of all Independent Sector attendances.

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ICATS Attendances

Integrated Clinical Assessment and Treatment Services ICATS are provided by integrated multi-disciplinary teams of health service professionals, and provide assessment, treatment and advisory services. These are provided in a variety of primary, community and secondary care settings.

  • There were 67,978 attendances at (ICATS) in Northern Ireland in 2021/22.
  • This is an increase of 15.6% from 2020/21 (58,812).

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Patient Cancellations

Data in this section relate to the number of appointments cancelled by patients who informed the hospital at least the day before their appointment was scheduled that they ‘could not attend’ (CNA). These appointments may be rescheduled for attendance by another patient. When assessing and comparing appointments cancelled by patients, the standardised rate of patient cancellations should be used. \[\small CNA\;rate = \frac {Number\;of\;cancelled\; appointments} {Number\;of\;attendances + number\;of\;cancelled\;appointments} × 100 \]


Face-to-Face Patient Cancellations

  • 118,255 face-to-face outpatient appointments were cancelled by the patient during 2021/22, giving a CNA rate of 10.5.
  • The CNA rate has increased by 2.1 points since 2020/21 (8.4).
  • 41,354 (35.0%) of patient cancellations were new appointments and 76,901 (65.0%) were review appointments.
  • The five specialties with the highest CNA rates were Clinical Neuro-physiology (21.7), Dental Medicine Specialties (21.3), Old Age Psychiatry (20.7), Paediatric Dentistry (20.0) and Ophthalmology (17.0).

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Virtual Patient Cancellations

  • 10,225 virtual appointments were cancelled by the patient during 2021/22, giving a CNA rate of 2.9.
  • The CNA rate has increased by 1.1 points from last year (1.8).
  • The Plastic Surgery specialty had the highest CNA rate of 5.8 (for a specialty with more than 100 attendances).

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Day Case Procedure Centres Patient Cancellations

  • Patients cancelled a total of 912 outpatient appointments (CNAs) at Day Case Procedure Centres.

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ICATS Patient Cancellations

  • 8,358 ICATS appointments were cancelled by the patient during 2021/22, giving a CNA rate of 10.9.
  • The CNA rate has increased by 3.9 points from last year (7.0).
  • The Ophthalmology specialty had the highest CNA rate of 17.6 (for a specialty with more than 100 attendances).

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Hospital Cancellations

Hospital Cancellation rates are an indication of a loss to potential productivity within the Health and Social Care system, as in most cases the patient still requires assessment and will have to be booked into another appointment. When assessing and comparing appointments cancelled by hospitals, the standardised hospital cancellation rate should be used. \[\small hospital\;cancellation\;rate = \frac {Number\;of\;hospital\;cancelled\;appointments} {Number\;of\;attendances + number\;of\;hospital\;cancelled\;appointments} × 100 \]


Face-to-Face Hospital Cancellations

  • 155,987 face-to-face outpatient appointments were cancelled by hospitals during 2021/22, giving a hospital cancellation rate of 13.4.
  • This is a decrease of 7.0 points in the hospital cancellation rate since 2020/21 (20.4).
  • The five specialties with the highest Hospital Cancellation rates were Paediatric Neurology (26.5), Paedaitric Surgery (24.5), Radiology (24.0), Nephrology (23.4) and Clinical Neuro-physiology (22.6).
  • The Belfast HSC Trust had the highest Hospital Cancellation rate (15.1), whilst the Southern HSC Trust had the lowest rate (9.7).

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Virtual Hospital Cancellations

  • 47,197 virtual appointments were cancelled by the hospital during 2021/22, giving a Hospital Cancellation rate of 12.2.
  • The Hospital Cancellation rate has increased by 1.8 points from 2020/21 (10.4).
  • The Belfast HSC Trust had the highest Hospital Cancellation rate of 16.3.

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Day Case Procedure Centres Hospital Cancellations

  • Hospitals cancelled 757 outpatient appointments at Day Case Procedure Centres.

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ICATS Hospital Cancellations

  • There were 9,269 ICATS appointments cancelled by the hospital during 2021/22, giving a Hospital Cancellation rate of 12.0.
  • The Hospital Cancellation rate has decreased by 0.5 points from 2020/21 (12.5).
  • The South Eastern HSC Trust had the highest Hospital Cancellation rate of 14.4.

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Reasons for Cancellation

An outpatient appointment may be cancelled by either the patient or the hospital. Reasons for cancellation are not available for virtual or ICATS appointments.

Face-to-Face and DPC Reasons for Cancellations

  • Of the 275,911 appointments cancelled by the patient or hospital during 2021/22, 12.4% had no reason recorded or were incorrectly recorded.
  • There were 142,522 appointments cancelled by the hospital with a reason for cancellation provided. Of these, 36.0% (51,351) were because of the reason ‘Appointment Put Back’.
  • There were 99,070 appointments cancelled by the patient with a reason provided. Of these, the majority (88.5%, 87,637) were recorded under the reason ‘Patient cancelled appointment still required’.

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Missed Appointments

These data relate to the number of patients who ‘did not attend’ (DNA) their appointment and did not inform the hospital, or informed them on the day the appointment was scheduled. These data are used as an indicator of lost productivity in that the hospital is resourced at that point in time to assess a patient, but the appointment is wasted as the patient fails to attend, or fails to give appropriate notice they can’t attend. This prevents another patient from being seen in the scheduled appointment slot. When assessing and comparing missed appointments, the standardised DNA Rate should be used. \[\small DNA\;rate = \frac {Number\;of\;missed\; appointments} {Number\;of\;attendances + number\;of\;missed\;appointments} × 100 \]


Face-to-Face Missed Appointments

  • 93,081 face-to-face outpatient appointments were missed during 2021/22, giving a DNA rate of 8.4.
  • The DNA rate has increased by 1.1 points from 2020/21 (7.3).
  • 29,120 (31.3%) of missed appointments were new appointments and 63,961 (68.7%) were review appointments.
  • The five specialties with the highest DNA rates were Obstetrics (Post Natal) (29.8), Accident & Emergency (23.3), Learning Disability (19.4), Paediatric Surgery (16.2) and Paediatric Dentistry (13.2).

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Virtual Missed Appointments

  • 23,588 virtual appointments were missed by the patient during 2021/22, giving a DNA rate of 6.5.
  • The DNA rate has decreased by 0.6 points from 2020/21 (7.1).
  • The Child & Adolescent Psychiatry specialty had the highest DNA rate of 24.6.

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Day Case Procedure Centres Missed Appointments

  • A total of 275 outpatient appointments were missed by patients (DNAs) at Day Case Procedure Centres.

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ICATS Missed Appointments

  • 6,764 ICATS appointments were missed by the patient during 2021/22, giving a DNA rate of 9.0.
  • The DNA rate has increased by 0.9 points from 2020/21 (8.1).
  • The Dermatology specialty had the highest DNA rate of 10.5 (for a specialty with more than 100 attendances).

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Definitions

Outpatient Service

An outpatient service is a consultant-led service provided by Health and Social Care Trusts to allow patients to see a consultant, their staff and associated health professionals for assessment in relation to a specific condition. Patients are not admitted into hospital for this assessment. Outpatient services are usually provided during a clinic session (though in some cases patients may be seen on a ward, at a designated virtual clinic or at an existing core clinic) and provide an opportunity for consultation, investigation and minor treatment. Patients normally attend by prior arrangement. consultant-led outpatient attendances can take the form of a face-to-face appointment or a virtual appointment (telephone contact, video-link, an email or a letter). Although a consultant is in overall charge, they may not be present on all occasions that the clinic is held. They must, however, be represented by a member of their team.


Outpatient Appointment

An outpatient appointment is an administrative arrangement enabling patients to see a consultant, their staff and associated health professionals, following an outpatient referral. Outpatient appointments relate to all appointments with a consultant-led service, irrespective of the location in which the service is provided. Ward attendances seen by a consultant are reported separately.


New Attendance

A new attendance is the first of a series or the only attendance at an outpatient service with a consultant or their representative following an outpatient referral. Most referrals will be seen as a consequence of a GP referral request; however, referrals may also be received from a range of other sources.


Review Attendance

A review attendance is an attendance at an outpatient service following; a new outpatient attendance, a previous review attendance, an attendance at an Accident & Emergency unit, a domiciliary visit, or following an inpatient admission, for the same condition. Essentially review appointments are all appointments that are not a first appointment.


Virtual Activity

A virtual outpatient appointment is a planned contact by a healthcare professional responsible for the care of a patient for the purposes of clinical consultation, advice and treatment planning. Virtual appointments may take the form of a telephone contact, video-link intervention, an email or a letter.


Day Case Procedure Centres

In February 2019, prototype ‘Day Case Procedure Centres’ (DPCs) became operational to deliver large volumes of assessments and non-complex routine surgery.

Patients waiting for the surgical treatment of Cataracts and Varicose Veins can now be referred to a DPC for treatment rather than attend the hospital site they may have been referred to previously.


Ward Attendances Seen by a Consultant

A ward attender is a patient who attends a ward for the purpose of examination or treatment by a consultant/doctor or member of their team. These patients would not currently be admitted to the healthcare provider. The care is for the prevention, cure, relief or investigation because of a disease, injury, health problem or other factors affecting their health status, as outlined below -

  • Disease (physical or mental) confirmed or suspected – inclusive of undiagnosed signs or symptoms
  • Injury – inclusive of poisoning – confirmed or suspected
  • Health problems e.g. prostheses or graft in situ
  • Other factors influencing the health status of non-sick persons e.g.
  • pregnancy
  • family planning
  • potential donor (organ or tissue)
  • potential problem requiring prophylactic (preventative) care
  • bereavement or other problem requiring health professional counselling
  • cosmetic surgery
  • other


Independent Sector

An Independent Sector provider is a private sector healthcare company that is contracted by HSC Trusts in the provision of healthcare or in the support of the provision of healthcare.

Independent Sector DNA’s, CNA’s and hospital cancellations are not currently collected by the Department.


Integrated Clinical Assessment and Treatment Services (ICATS)

From 1st April 2010, a number of Integrated Clinical Assessment and Treatment Services (ICATS) were introduced. ICATS is the term used for a range of outpatient services for patients, which are provided by integrated multi-disciplinary teams of health service professionals, including GPs with a special interest, specialist nurses and allied health professionals. They are provided in a variety of primary, community and secondary care settings and they include assessment, treatment, diagnostic and advisory services.

An appointment at ICATS is known as a Tier 2 appointment. These are non consultant-led services. Following ICATS Triage, patients who have not been given either a discharge, advice only or referral incomplete outcome will proceed for either a (i) first outpatient appointment, (ii) a diagnostic test or (iii) an ICATS Tier 2 appointment. Following a first Tier 2 ICATS appointment there are a number of possible outcomes, including a review Tier 2 ICATS appointment or a referral for a first consultant-led outpatient appointment.

ICATS Tier 2 appointments attendances, CNA’s, DNA’s and hospital cancellations are defined similarly to those for consultant-led outpatient services.


Patient Cancellations / Could Not Attend (CNA)

These data relate to the number of appointments cancelled by patients who informed the hospital at least the day before the appointment was scheduled. These appointments may be rescheduled for attendance by another patient. This does not include appointments cancelled as a result of the hospital being notified of the patient’s death.


CNA Rate

When assessing and comparing appointments cancelled by patients, the standardised rate of patient cancellations (CNA Rate) should be used. This is necessary because the number of appointments scheduled is likely to impact upon the number of cancelled appointments.

CNA Rate = (number of cancelled appointments) / (total attendances + number of cancelled appointments) × 100


Hospital Cancellation

This is the number of outpatient appointments that have been cancelled by the providing hospital. A cancelled appointment is one which was intended to be held but which did not occur. In most cases the patient still requires assessment and will be rebooked into another appointment. These data are an indication of the loss of potential productivity within hospitals. This does not include appointments cancelled by the hospital as a result of the patient’s death. These appointments may be rescheduled for attendance by another patient.


Hospital Cancellation Rate

When assessing and comparing appointments cancelled by hospitals, the standardised rate of hospital cancellations should be used. This is necessary because the number of appointments scheduled is likely to impact upon the number of cancelled appointments.

Hospital Cancellation Rate = (number of hospital cancellations) / (number of attendances + number of hospital cancellations) × 100


Reasons for Cancellation

An outpatient appointment may be cancelled by either the providing hospital or the patient.

Hospital Cancellations may occur for the following reasons:

  • Consultant unavailable
  • Medical staff / Nurse unavailable
  • Patient treated elsewhere
  • Consultant cancelled appointment
  • Appointment rescheduled (brought forward)
  • Appointment rescheduled (put back)
  • Cancelled following validation / audit
  • Administrative error by hospital
  • Hospital transport not available
  • Cancelled by hospital in order to rebook as alternative booking method

Patient Cancellations (CNA) may occur for the following reasons:

  • Patient cancelled appointment as it is no longer required
  • Patient cancelled but the appointment is still required
  • GP cancelled appointment

Health and Social Care Trusts must use one of the above regional codes to record reason for cancellation. If no reason for cancellation has been recorded, Trusts report this as ‘No reason for cancellation recorded’.

If an incorrect reason for cancellation has been recorded, for example if one of the hospital cancellation reasons is recorded against a patient cancellation, Trusts report the reasons for such cancellations as ‘Incorrect reason for cancellation recorded’.

Cancellations due to the death of a patient are reported separately and should not be included in figures for either patient or hospital cancellations.


Missed Appointments / Did Not Attend (DNA)

These data relate to the number of patients who did not attend their appointment and did not inform the hospital, or informed them on the day the appointment was scheduled. These data are used as an indicator of lost productivity in that the hospital is resourced at that point in time to assess a patient, but the appointment is wasted as the patient fails to attend, or fails to give appropriate notice that they cannot attend. This prevents another patient from being seen in the scheduled appointment slot.


DNA Rate

When assessing and comparing missed appointments, the standardised rate of missed appointments (DNA Rate) should be used. This is necessary because the number of appointments scheduled is likely to impact upon the number of missed appointments, i.e. the more appointments scheduled, the more likely it will be that the number of missed appointments will increase.

DNA Rate = (Number of missed appointments) / (Total attendances + number of missed appointments) × 100


Specialty

A specialty is a particular branch of medicine or surgery. Each consultant is assigned a main specialty from a list recognised by the Royal Colleges and Faculties. Information is recorded against the specialty of the treating consultant.


Private Patient Attendance

A private patient is one who has opted to have treatment outside the Health Service and has undertaken to pay for all expenses incurred to attend an assessment with a Health and Social Care consultant at a Health and Social Care facility. Private patient attendances are included within the main outpatient activity figures and are also available separately in the downloadable data files. These columns therefore should not be added together.


Data Sources, Quality and Guidance

Number of Attendances vs Number of Patients

The number of attendances does not equate to the number of patients seen, as it is possible for the same person to attend a consultant-led outpatient service more than once during the year. This is the same when looking at missed and cancelled appointments and the reasons for cancellation, as it is possible for the same person to miss or cancel their appointment or have their appointment cancelled by the hospital more than once during the year.


Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Outpatient Activity

When interpreting the statistics presented in this report, consideration should be given to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on hospital services. Users should be aware that the pandemic drastically altered the functions of hospitals during the reporting period, including the availability and location of services. This has had a direct impact on the outpatient activity observed.

Data from 2021/22 can be compared with previous years but users should bear in mind that many of the changes observed will be influenced by and attributable to the impact of COVID-19.

This release does not include any specific COVID-19 data.


Data Sources

The information presented in this publication derives from statistical returns (listed below) provided by HSC Trusts, Hospitals and the HSC Board:

  • Quarterly Outpatient Activity Return (QOAR) and Regional Quarterly Outpatient Activity Return (R-QOAR) Parts 1 and 2
  • Departmental Return IS1 Part 1
  • Virtual Outpatient Activity Return (V-QOAR)
  • Quarterly ICATS Activity Return (QIAR)

Data providers are supplied with technical guidance documents outlining the methodologies that should be used in the collection, reporting and validation of these data returns. These documents can be accessed at the following link: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/outpatient-activity

Information presented in this publication in relation to the QOAR, R-QOAR, QIAR and V-QOAR returns has been validated and quality assured by HSC Trusts prior to publication. Following submission, Hospital Information Branch perform a series of checks to verify that information is consistent both within and across returns. Trend analyses are used to monitor annual variations and emerging trends. Queries arising from validation checks are presented to HSC Trusts for clarification and if required, returns may be amended and/or re-submitted. Prior to the publication of this information, the data are formally signed off by HSC Trusts.


Face-to-face Activity, Day Case Procedure Centre Activity and Ward Attendances

The data for consultant-led outpatient activity in HSC hospitals (face-to-face outpatient attendances and ward attendances) are compiled from the Quarterly Outpatient Activity Return (QOAR) which was introduced from 1st April 2008. Day Case Procedure Centre data are compiled from the Regional Quarterly Activity Return (R-QOAR) which was introduced from March 2019. The returns refer to all HSC hospitals in Northern Ireland that provide consultant-led outpatient services.

The number of ward attendances missed by the patient or cancelled by either the patient or the hospital is not collected by the Department.

DPC activity data are not national statistics, but have been provided to add some additional context to outpatient activity.


Independent Sector Activity

Independent Sector activity data have been compiled from the Independent Sector Part 1 (IS1 Part 1) Return, which was introduced from 1st April 2008. They refer to all activity that takes place in Independent Sector providers commissioned by the Health Service.

These data are not National Statistics and have not been validated by the Department; however, they have been published to provide users with a comprehensive view of activity commissioned by the Health Service during each year.


Virtual Outpatient Activity

The virtual outpatient activity data has been compiled from the Virtual Outpatient Activity Return (V-QOAR) which was introduced at the beginning of 2015/16.

Prior to 2015/16, virtual outpatient activity was included within the QOAR. During 2015/16, this activity was removed from the QOAR and was not included within this publication in 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18. From 2018/19 onwards, virtual activity is included as a separate category.


Integrated Clinical Assessment and Treatment service (ICATS) Activity

The ICATS activity data contained in this publication have been compiled from the Quarterly ICATS Activity Return (QIAR), which was introduced from 1st April 2010.

Reasons for cancellation of ICATS Tier 2 appointments are not currently collected by the Department.


Private patient attendances

While data providers have been given in-depth guidance providing instructions for recording, collection and submission of data, the information undergoes limited validation. Users should not confuse these data with that for patients transferred by Health and Social Care providers to the Private or Independent Sector for treatment.

Private patient attendances are included within the main outpatient activity figures and also listed separately in the downloadable data files. These columns therefore should not be added together.


Reason for outpatient appointment cancellation

The ‘reason for cancellation’ variable was only made mandatory for completion from March 2013. Data users should be aware of this when comparing data across the years.

Data are derived from a range of administrative systems. The levels of appointments that are either not coded with a reason, or have been coded with an incorrect reason has improved in recent years and therefore users should be careful in their use of the data. Increasing levels of coverage over time presents complexities whereby, for example, a reported increase in the number of appointments cancelled due to the consultant being unavailable, may be a consequence of better levels of coding in latter quarters rather than an actual increase in the number of appointments cancelled for this reason. Due to changes in coding coverage, care should be taken when comparing the number of appointments cancelled for a particular reason over time.

Almost all of the patients with no reason recorded are in the Belfast HSC Trust. The Belfast HSC Trust holds the highest proportion of manual records, which typically do not have a reason provided.

Readers should note that not all hospital cancellations will necessarily result in a negative impact for the patient.


Additional Information and Data

Outpatient Activity Data

Data detailed in this publication are also available in spreadsheet format to aid secondary analysis, at the following link:

https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/hospital-statistics-outpatient-activity-statistics-202122


Inpatient Activity Statistics

For statistics on inpatient activity please see: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/inpatient-and-day-case-activity


National Statistics

The alt text using fig.alt for the NS Logo

The United Kingdom Statistics Authority has designated these statistics as National Statistics, in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

National Statistics status means that official statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value.

It is the DoH’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected of National Statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the Authority promptly. National Statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored.

The statistics underwent a full assessment against the Code of Practice in 2012. Designation was awarded in June 2013.

Since the assessment by the Office for Statistics Regulation, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Further information on the Code of Practice for Statistics is available at: https://code.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/


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