Expressions of interest are invited to join the National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Audit (NOGCA) Public and Patient Involvement Forum for the following vacancies:
- Patient or Carer Representative x2 vacancies, England or Wales
About NOGCA
NOGCA is a pivotal data-driven initiative that evaluates the quality of care for people with oesophageal and gastric cancers in England and Wales. NOGCA supports NHS Trusts/Local Health Boards, Cancer Alliances, and policymakers to improve outcomes for people diagnosed with oesophageal and gastric cancer.
One of NOGCA’s standout features is its commitment to quality improvement. The NOGCA Quality Improvement Plan outlines five strategic goals, including reducing emergency and late-stage diagnoses, minimising wait times for treatment, enhancing access to clinical nurse specialists, improving curative treatment outcomes, and optimising palliative chemotherapy completion and reducing complications. These objectives are supported by ten performance indicators, ensuring a structured approach to improving patient outcomes and care.
NOGCA utilises routinely collected NHS data, our recently published NOGCA Quarterly Data Dashboard offers an up-to-date view of the Audit’s key performance indicators. This dashboard, along with our comprehensive State of the Nation Report (September 2025), provides a detailed overview of our current work and findings.
About NOGCA PPI Forum
The purpose of the Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Forum is to act as a consultative group to the NOGCA Project Team. It provides advisory support across the entire scope of the NOGCA’s work, with the aim of ensuring that the voice of patients is reflected in the direction and delivery of the Audit.
Download the Terms of Reference for more detail on the purpose and objectives of the forum.
NOGCA PPI Forum – Terms of Reference
The NOGCA PPI Forum will:
- Represent the views of people with experience of living with oesophago-gastric cancer and act as a consultative group to the NOGCA Project Team.
- Be active participants in the production of Audit outputs including
- the development and review of patient information materials and summaries of the annual “state of the nation” reports.
- co-development and/or co-authorship of scientific papers that explore NOGCA results
- Shape the development of the NOGCA’s quality improvement goals, activities and outputs by ensuring this work is relevant from the patient perspective.
Eligibility
- Membership is open to any person with experience of living with oesophago-gastric cancer care in England and Wales, up to a maximum of 10 members.
- This includes people who have oesophago-gastric cancer, have survived oesophago-gastric cancer or are a carer to someone who has had oesophago-gastric cancer. The diagnosis of oesophago-gastric cancer to be within the last five years.
- The group will include people with a range of diagnosis, treatment and oesophago-gastric cancer types to reflect the profile of people affected in England and Wales.
- Members will be recruited who:
- are prepared to discuss treatment, side effects and other issues from a patient or carer perspective.respect different viewpoints and are happy to engage with a diverse group including health professionals, researchers and charity professionals.are flexible and available to join virtual meetings with the possibility of occasional face-to-face meetings.
- have internet access and confidence in using IT software including email and MS Teams.
- Members are requested to commit for one year in the first instance with the likelihood of extending up to 2-3 years.
Members serve for a minimum of one year and the group meets twice a year (via MS Teams).
How to express interest
Expressions of interest (EoIs) should be no more than one side of A4 and include:
- A brief profile of yourself, including your credentials in relation to the eligibility criteria above, and any other information of relevance for the role.
- Any potential conflicts of interest.
Please send EoIs to [email protected] by midday on Monday 5 January 2026. If you wish to find out more about the role before submitting an EoI please email [email protected] and the team will be happy to respond to questions, by email or phone.
Further information about NOGCA
The National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Audit is commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) as part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP), and delivered jointly by the Clinical Effectiveness Unit (CEU) at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NATCAN).