Volume of care

What this data shows:

In general, as the volume of procedures increases, the mortality rates get closer to the national average. With higher volumes, there is more certainty about the outcomes of the surgeon or trust because the results will be less affected by chance.

How the data is gathered:

This measure has been reported for NHS trusts and individual surgeons.

When the data is shown:

A low volume does not mean that a surgeon is inexperienced in the procedure as he or she might have performed a lot of operations A surgeon will also be performing other procedures (not for cancer) on the stomach and its connecting organs. Because of the effect of volume on outcomes, we do not report outcomes for surgeons who performed fewer than ten procedures in the reporting period.

More information about the data source:

The results have been prepared from data submitted to the National Oesophago-gastric Cancer Audit (NOGCA) by NHS hospitals. The reported figures were reviewed and verified by NHS trusts and individual surgeons prior to publication.

Data Source:

NHS trusts providing oesophago-gastric cancer surgery

Data Period:

Patients diagnosed with oesophago-gastric cancer between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2017

Data Supplier:

National Oesophago-gastric Cancer Audit