Guides · checked October 2026

Guides for clinical audit leads, governance and quality teams

Short, sourced answers to the questions people in this work actually search for. Each guide links the official pages it relies on and says plainly where Oriel fits and where it doesn't.

• How to run a clinical audit, step by stepThe four stages of a clinical audit as HQIP describes them, from aim and standards to data collection, action plan and re-audit.
• The clinical audit cycle explainedWhat each stage of the clinical audit cycle involves, why NICE called it a spiral, and when the cycle actually closes.
• What is a re-audit, and when should you do one?Re-audit is a second round of data collection using the same protocol, to show whether changes from the first audit worked.
• How to write a clinical audit proformaHow to design a clinical audit data collection proforma that gives clean, comparable data, based on HQIP's data quality guidance.
• Audit criteria, standards and targets: what's the difference?How NICE and HQIP describe audit criteria, standards and targets, with the 100% question and how to set a realistic target.
• NICE and HQIP clinical audit guidance: what to readThe main NICE and HQIP documents on clinical audit, what each is for, and which are past their review date.
• Clinical audit vs service evaluation vs researchHow the HRA tells clinical audit, service evaluation and research apart, and which need NHS Research Ethics Committee review.
• National clinical audits, NCAPOP and Quality Accounts explainedWho commissions NCAPOP, how the NHS Standard Contract and Quality Accounts tie trusts to national audits, and what must be reported.
• How to automate clinical audit data collectionHow to pull audit data from hospital systems instead of by hand, what HQIP says to test, and where people still need to decide.
• On-premises vs cloud AI in hospitalsWhat NHS England's cloud guidance and the DSP Toolkit say, and how to weigh on-site models against cloud AI for clinical data.
• How to write a clinical audit reportThe sections HQIP's template uses for a clinical audit report, plus rules on action plans, RAG ratings, sample sizes and record keeping.
• IR(ME)R clinical audit: what employers must doWhat IR(ME)R 2017 regulation 7 requires on clinical audit, the 2024 change to act on results, and who enforces it.

General information, checked October 2026. Not legal, regulatory or clinical advice. Oriel is a working prototype shown on a fictional demo hospital with synthetic data only. It is not a medical device and is not for clinical use. It drafts and flags for people to decide; it does not diagnose or change clinical records. A clinical safety case and information-governance approval come before any use with real patient data. Oriel is a working name.