What is the National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA)?

NOCA was established in 2012 to create sustainable clinical audit programmes at national level. National clinical audit is an ongoing review of clinical practice- measuring structures, processes and outcomes to make improvements. NOCA supports hospitals to learn from their audit cycles. The National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare (HIQA 2012) recommends that where national audits exist, hospitals should have an agreed audit plan for participation.

NOCA is funded by the Health Service Executive Quality Improvement Division and supported by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

 

NOCA Governance Board

The NOCA Governance Board, is an independent voluntary board which has been convened to guide the clinical decision making and strategic direction of NOCA. The NOCA Board has the authority to issue directions to NOCA Management with regard to the various clinical audit streams. The board will ensure that NOCA administrative processes comply with all legal and statutory requirements. It will ensure that NOCA adheres to the highest standards of corporate and social responsibility. It’s ultimate responsibility will be to agree and sign off on all published annual reports of national clinical audits managed under NOCA.

The NOCA Governance Board convenes once every quarter.

Name	Role
Prof Conor O’Keane	Chair
Mr Ken Mealy	Clinical Director, NOCA
Dr Philip Crowley	Director, HSE Quality Improvement Division
Dr Kevin Carson	President, The College of Anaesthetists of Ireland
Prof Sean Tierney	Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Prof Oscar Traynor	Independent Hospitals Association of Ireland
Mr Paddy Kenny	Irish Institute of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery
Dr Jeanne Moriarty	Joint Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine in Ireland
Dr Una Geary	Irish Committee for Emergency Medicine Training
Dr Max Ryan	Faculty of Radiologists
Dr Mike Robson	Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Dr Brendan Murphy	Faculty of Paediatrics
Ms Maureen Flynn	Office of Nursing and Midwifery Directorate
Prof Deirdre Madden	Public Representative
Ms Iryna Pokhilo	Patient Representative
Ms Collette Tully	Executive Director, NOCA

 

Duty of Care

Should the NOCA Governance Board become aware of poor professional performance (Medical Practitioners Act 2007) or process which has not been satisfactorily addressed through the audit cycle, it has a duty to communicate such findings through the relevant channels available to the National Director of Quality Improvement Division, HSE. It must make every effort to ensure immediate action is taken to ensure patient safety.

 

NOCA Executive Team

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