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5 Methodology Methodology 2 Summary · The Scottish Audit of Head and Neck Cancers was set up by the (then) Clinical Resource Audit Group (CRAG) of the Scottish Executive Health Department. Dr A G Robertson was the principal grant holder and lead clinician for the project. · A multidisciplinary National Steering Group Committee was set up to oversee the project and met regularly. · The aim of this 3 year project was to review the referral, investigation, treatment, and follow-up of patients with head and neck cancers within Scotland, and to audit the findings in terms of outcome. · The project was a prospective population-based audit of all head and neck cancers in Scotland over 24 months with a minimum of one year follow-up on each patient. · All hospitals in Scotland dealing with the diagnosis and/or management of patients with head and neck cancers were involved in the audit. · All patients diagnosed with primary head and neck cancers from 1 September 1999 to 31 August 2001 were to be registered. Data collection was organised into five regional subgroups to cover all of Scotland, and data managers appointed for three regions with part time secondment of audit staff from the other two regions. · The draft data collection tools were modified after a pilot study and feedback from the six data managers and the national steering group. ® database was designed to enter and analyse the data, and each data manager was responsible for the input of data from their region. · Patients registered in the audit were recruited using pathology lists, SMR returns, radiotherapy treatment lists (quarterly), and clinic lists (weekly or monthly); and cross-checked to ensure completeness of registration. · 10% of all data collection forms were checked by a member of ISD Cancer Group staff and found to be accurate. · Based on SMR6 cancer registration figures (ISD Scotland), 77 % of expected cases of Head and Neck Cancers were registered in the audit. · The majority of the data were collected by the data managers.