Audit resources

This page provides resources to support participation in NCAP. These materials are designed for anyone involved in NCAP audits across England and Wales.

Changes to data collection methodology

From 2025, NCAP has moved to a new methodology for collecting EIP audit data.

Instead of collecting data directly from local teams, NCAP now uses data extracted from the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) for English teams. Welsh teams submit their data through the tool created by the Quality, Safety and Improvement Division (QS&I) within NHS Wales. This change has been made to reduce audit burden for services.

We recognise that data quality may not yet be optimal, and we expect this to improve over time. The NCAP team will support services by:

  • Providing resources to help improve data quality
  • Offering quality improvement (QI) support through the NCAP QI programme

Please use the dropdown list below for more specific information for your country.

Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) England Routine Audit

This section contains information and resources for the EIP routine audit in England.

Other supporting resources

Submitting data to the MHSDS

Teams should focus on regularly submitting accurate data to the MHSDS, as this is the data source used for the NCAP audit.

  • Guidance on how to submit data is available on the MHSDS webpage
  • The NCAP team is not directly involved in the data submission process
  • NCAP can advise on how data appear after extraction from the MHSDS for audit purposes, but cannot resolve submission issues

For support with submissions, providers are advised to contact the NHS England Information Standards service desk.

MHSDS performance monthReporting period NCAP dashboard publication
June 20251 July 2022 - 30 June 2025December 2025
August 20251 September 2022 - 31 August 2025February 2026
November 20251 December 2022 - 31 November 2025February 2026
February 20261 March 2023 - 28 February 2026May 2026
May 20261 June 2023 - 31 May 2026September 2026
August 20261 September 2023 - 31 August 2026TBC

Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) Wales routine audit

This section contains information and resources for the EIP routine audit in Wales. 

Supporting resources

NCAP methodology: Eligibility and sampling guidance

Data sent from NHS Wales QS&IDashboard publication
28 May 2026Week commencing 29 June
25 June 2026Week commencing 6 July
30 July 2026Week commencing 10 August
27 August 2026Week commencing 7 September
24 September 2026Week commencing 5 October
29 October 2026Week commencing 9 November

Data tables for all NCAP audits - Casenote audit data by participating Trusts/Health Boards.

Audit tools

Casenote audit questionnaires

Contextual audit questionnaires

Analysis plans

Guidance

Other

*Please note the addition of a CYP item to the sub-matrix, this will not contribute to the overall score. 

The National Audit of Schizophrenia (NAS) ran for two rounds of audit, 2011-2012 and 2013-14. For further information, please head to the NAS website page.

The Lester Positive Cardiometabolic Health Resource is a clear, practical guide that supports healthcare professionals to assess and manage the physical health of people with severe mental illness who are taking antipsychotic medication. It outlines what to check and what actions to take to reduce cardiovascular and metabolic risk.

The resource was adapted for UK use with input from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Royal College of General Practitioners, and NCAP. It was updated in 2023 with NHS England to reflect the latest NICE guidance on cardiovascular risk assessment and management (CG181).

You can download the latest version of the tool here:

Download the Positive Cardiometabolic Health Resource

Improving the physical health of people with serious mental illness – a practical toolkit

To support services in putting the Lester tool into practice, NHS England worked with staff and patients in four mental health trusts between 2014 and 2016 to improve cardiovascular (CVD) health and reduce premature mortality in people with serious mental illness. CVD remains the leading cause of early death in this group.

The resulting practical toolkit shares what these trusts learned. It includes case studies, short examples and supporting documents to help other services implement the Lester approach in day-t-‑day practice.

The toolkit is based on an earlier version of the Lester tool, but much of the learning is still relevant and transferable to the 2023 update.

Download the toolkit

Disclaimer

These tools and documents were specifically developed for use within the National Clinical Audit of Psychosis (NCAP). These tools have been made publicly available and should you choose to download them for uses outside of the NCAP, you are free to do so, but are hereby agreeing to enter into a royalty free, non-exclusive, licence agreement with Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership under the following terms and conditions:

All information, software, products and related graphics contained in the audit tool or data collection form are provided for non-commercial purposes "as is" without warranty, including but not limited to the implied warranties of satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement of third-party intellectual property rights.

In no event shall HQIP be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages for loss of profits, revenue, data or use incurred by you or any third party, whether in action in contract, tort, or otherwise, arising from NCAPOP Provider technical manual v4 - 12 September 2025 Contents 71 your access to, or use of, the audit tool or form.

HQIP make no representations about the suitability, reliability, or timeliness, and accuracy of the information, software, products, and related graphics contained in the audit tool or forms. HQIP reserves the right to make improvements, changes, or updates to forms or tools at any time without notice.