Technical note on the calculation of the baseline for the Detect Cancer Early HEAT target

4. Developments to date

4.1 In the 2012/13 Local Delivery Plan (LDP) guidance the available Cancer Registry data was used for the DCE HEAT target, using average annual performance for 2005 to 2009 as a baseline. However, due to the high proportion of "unknown" stages and the delay between collection and publication it was made clear that the use of registry data for monitoring of the target would be reviewed. Consideration was given to using the new cancer audit data instead and a workshop was held in March 2012 to assess the quality of the staging information and the feasibility of using this. Caveated with the need for further improvements to staging information, combined with the relative speed with which cancer audit data can be processed, cancer audit data emerged as the preferred source for monitoring of the DCE HEAT target. The proposal was supported by the DCE Programme Board and Scottish Cancer Taskforce.

4.2 Although cancer audit data will be the primary source for measuring progress against the HEAT target, Cancer Registry data will also be monitored throughout the programme as it is anticipated that changes in staging patterns will be reflected in both sets of data.