144 For Audit's Sake: An Audit of Audits

Abstract Aim Audit is a mandatory requirement for completion of Dental Core Training. Consequently, many audits undertaken by trainees are to “tick a box”, leading to incomplete or poor-quality audits, with change either not implemented or never measured. This audit assesses the standard of local audits. Method All audits registered with the local audit department from 2017-2020 were assessed using a standard that “100% of audits should be full cycle” (BMJ), and “100% audits must be measured against explicit standards" (NICE). The outcome forms and submitted audit presentations were used to evaluate if the completed audits needed re-auditing, and whether they had been re-audited. Whether they were actually audits was also assessed. Results 38 audit titles were registered. 7 had not been completed. Of 31 remaining audits, 24 needed re-auditing and 7 did not. Of 24 audits needing re-audit, 4 audits had not reached the proposed re-audit deadline, 7 re-audits were completed and 13 were not, leading to 35% (7/20) re-audit compliance. 5 did not have pre-determined standards, leading to 84% standards compliance. Conclusions As shown by the results, many audits are either not audits, not completed or never re-audited, leading to no change or no measurement of change. Re-evaluation of mandatory trainee involvement in audit and an emphasis on a more department lead approach to clinical governance could enable improved continuity of audits after rotation of trainees. This may lead to higher quality work and improvement of service provision.