What is Quality Improvement?

Improving quality healthcare is about ensuring that the care we deliver is Safe, Effective, Patient-centred, Timely, Efficient and Equitable. Quality improvement (QI) is about ensuring that those closest to the problems affecting healthcare quality have the skills, permission and resources they need to solve them. The overall aim should be to provide high quality care to our patients and improve the health and care of our population.

QI draws upon a wide variety of approaches. However at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (STSFT) we have adopted the Model for Improvement Fig 1. (Langley et al, 2009) as a framework to guide improvement, where changes are tested in small cycles known as PDSA (Plan, Do, Study Act. The Model for Improvement is a simple yet powerful tool for developing and accelerating improvement.

Fig 1. The Model for Improvement

Fig 1. The Model for Improvement .jpg

Langley GL, Moen R, Nolan KM, Nolan TW, Norman CL, Provost LP. The Improvement Guide: A Practical Approach to Enhancing Organizational Performance (2nd edition). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers; 2009.

The Quality Improvement Team

Learning

We recommend you start here via your ESR. 

Online Training accessible via ESR:-

1. Log into My Learning in your ESR portal

2. Enrol in 000 Bronze Level Quality Improvement

 

NB. If you have an idea for a QI project please do get in touch and we can provide some coaching. 

 

For over 30 years the Institute for Health Care Improvement (IHI) has used improvement science to improve and sustains outcomes. Their guide to improvement can be found by CLICKING HERE 

Resources

Below are some tools you may find helpful on with your improvement project. 

The Science of Improvement on a whiteboard! 

These bitesize YouTube clips are led by Robert Lloyd, the vice president at IHI. Bob uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement breaking this down to easily accessible brief clips. 

There are many more which can be accessed here. The IHI also offer from their world reowned faculty the free Open School (you are required to register to create a free account) covering everything from an introduction to improvement to graduate medical education. 

Projects

If you are currently considering a project in your area, please do get in touch if you would like some support or coaching to develop and test your ideas.

CLICK HERE to access and complete your 'Plan on a Page'. Once complete please submit to the QI team at stsft.qiteam@nhs.net 

More information about our Quality strategy can be found here. 

QI projects which are currently underway in the Trust are below:
  • The Older People's Improvement Collaborative (TOPIC) - to improve the care and experience of patients and the experience of staff, in particular registered nurses and health care assistants
  • Reducing the incidence of category 2-4 pressure ulcers which have developed in our care by 25%
  • Reducing the incidence of severe of harm from patient falls, such that we are in the lower quartile of reporting Trusts nationally
  • Improve the recognition and management of deteriorating patients in hospital by:
    • 1.  Accurate and timely recording of Early Warning Scores for all (100%) patients
    • 2.  5% reduction in the number of cardiac arrests
    • 3.  Ensuring high-quality timely communication, decision-making and recording in relation to decisions about Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation
  • Achieve at least 90% compliance with:
    • 1. Nutritional screening on admission to hospital
    • 2. Compliance with recording of fluid input and output
  • Improve medicines management by:
    • 1. Ensuring that medicines reconciliation is achieved for 95% of patients within 24 hours of admission to our hospitals
    • 2. Reducing the incidence of missed doses of medicine by 50%
  • Dementia Petzzz

 

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