Breast cancer Quality Performance Indicators
Patients diagnosed between January 2021 and December 2023

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) summarises recent national performance in respect of a set of nationally agreed Quality Performance Indicators for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

The aim of the indicators is to ensure that efforts to improve treatment are focussed on those aspects that are most important in terms of improving survival and individual care experience whilst reducing variation and supporting the most effective and efficient delivery of care for people with this type of cancer. The indicators are developed and formally reviewed by HIS - Healthcare Improvement Scotland, PHS and the three regional cancer networks (NCA - North Cancer Alliance; SCAN - South East Scotland Cancer Network; and WoSCAN - West of Scotland Cancer Network).

Data are gathered and recorded in a central database by specialised cancer audit teams working in NHS Boards within the regional networks.

This release summarises performance for these indicators for patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer between January 2021 and December 2023.

Main points

Please see the spreadsheet published alongside this summary for the national performance statistics for each QPI.

• There were 5,506 women diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023. This was an increase from the previous years (5,192 women were diagnosed in 2022 and 5,159 in 2021).
• At Scotland level, nine out of the 17 targets were met in 2023.
• QPI 6(i) showed improvement, and the target was met in the last two years. QPI 6(ii) was challenging to meet. Regional reports cite the availability of operating theatres and plastic surgery teams as significant factors on this indicator.
• QPI 11(i) and (ii) remain hard to meet. Regional reports mention that the targets were not met largely due to comorbidities, or patients declining treatment.
• QPI 14 was archived from 2022, as it was agreed at formal review it has achieved its purpose, as performance was consistently high across the board.
• Performance against QPIs 17 and 18 showed strong improvement, with these targets met in both 2022 and 2023.
• Despite strong improvement from previous years, the target for QPI 19 (Deep Inspiratory Breath Hold radiotherapy) was missed by a small margin of 0.5%.
• The target for QPI 20 (time to radiotherapy) was not met, by a wide margin. This was newly introduced in 2023.
• For the first time, recurrence data was gathered by all but two health boards, and is reported in the new QPI 22. It is encouraging to note the three targets were all met.
• These QPIs are kept under regular review and are responsive to changes in clinical practice and emerging evidence.

Background

QPIs are in place for the treatment of a range of cancer types to support quality improvement in their treatment - see About the QPIs. Scottish territorial health boards are required to report on their performance against these indicators under the national cancer quality programme - see Scottish Government letter CEL 06 2012 setting out the details. Reporting in this current format was first undertaken in 2012. Performance for other cancers can be found in QPI reports.

Each of the networks released reports in respect of QPI performance in their region for this period: NCA, SCAN and WoSCAN. In addition, those directly involved in service improvement can access more detailed information through the Cancer QPI Dashboard within SCRIS (Scottish Cancer Registry and Intelligence Service). Due to the level of detail, access is strictly controlled. New users may apply for authorisation (to access the data) via https://useraccess.nhsnss.scot.nhs.uk.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be April 2028.