National Neurosurgical Audit Programme

The National Neurosurgical Audit Programme (NNAP) was established by the Society of British Neurological Surgeons (SBNSO in 2013 as part of a major quality improvement initiative. The programme aims to support neurosurgical units in the UK and Ireland to improve patient care outcomes, safety, and experience by providing high quality, robust audit data that is analysed and presented in a consistent and clinically relevant way.

The assessment of safety and quality within the NHS are becoming increasingly complex, with multiple data sources that complement, compete, and sometimes conflict with one another. Our aim through offering expertise in the analysis of HES data as well as synthesising the data available from other data sets such as NCIP, Model Hospital and our national registries, is to provide context and a deeper understanding.

Meet the Team
Adel Helmy

Adel Helmy

Chair of the National Neurosurgical Audit Programme - 2022 - 2026

Hospital and region:  Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust

Subspecialties: Skull Base, Neurovascular, Trauma

Role in SBNS council: Chair National Neurosurgical Audit Programme

Term: 2022-2026

Other roles: Training Programme Director (East of England), Associate Professor Neurosurgery (Univesrity of Cambridge), Racial Equality Lead (Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University  of Cambridge), PPIE Lead (Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge Biomedical Research Campus)
I have a long standing interest in clinical data from a research perspective, in particular how it can be used to change practice. We are lucky in neurosurgery to have a small cohesive specialty with a number of high profile audits and registries. NNAP has great potential to contribute to excellent care in the UK.

Adam Williams

Adam Williams

NNAP Vice Chair

Hospital and Region: North Bristol NHS Trust

Adam Williams is a Consultant Neurosurgeon and Clinical Lead at North Bristol NHS Trust, with specialist interests in pituitary surgery and spinal neuromodulation. He is committed to developing and evaluating quality in all its forms — from outcomes and patient experience to sustainable service design.

Adam is Vice Chair of the National Neurosurgical Audit Programme (NNAP) and a Specialist Advisor to the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He is also a member of the Neurosurgery Specialty Advisory Committee (SAC) and serves as a Director of the Association of Surgeons in Training (ASiT). His leadership roles span both clinical governance and surgical training, with a particular focus on using data to drive improvement, equity, and transparency in neurosurgical care.
Daniel Thompson

Daniel Thompson

NNAP Clinical Research Fellow

Hospital and Region: North Bristol NHS Trust

Daniel is a Neurosurgical ST6 in Bristol and currently the Joint NNAP/RCS Clinical Research Fellow and candidate for a PhD in the Cambridge University Clinical Neurosciences department. He has recently been elected as the BNTA SAC rep. Daniel is passionate about how we can effectively leverage big data to evaluate Neurosurgical practice and improve patient experience and outcomes.