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Health Foundation

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Key points

This guide focuses on quality improvement, and is especially useful for health care staff leading fast and efficient service change as a result of the pandemic.

Quality improvement involves the use of a systematic and coordinated approach to solving a problem using specific methods and tools with the aim of bringing about a measurable improvement within a health care setting.

Improving quality is about making health care safe, effective, patient-centred, timely, efficient and equitable. It's about giving the people closest to problems affecting care quality the time, permission, skills and resources they need to solve them. In the history of the NHS, there has never been a greater focus on improving the quality of health services.

As we shift from the emergency phase of COVID-19 it is vital that health and care workforces are able and supported to lead radical service change and improvements through re-starting, re-designing or developing new processes, pathways and services.

This guide offers an explanation of some popular approaches used to improve quality, including where they have come from, their underlying principles and their efficacy and applicability within the healthcare arena. It also describes the factors that can help to ensure the successful use of these approaches and methods. to improve the quality of care processes, pathways and services.

It is written for a general health care audience and will be most useful for those new to the field of quality improvement, or those wanting to be reminded of the key points.

First published in 2013 and updated in 2021, this is the third edition of Quality improvement made simple. The third edition was updated on 19 May 2021 to reflect NHSEI's newly published definition of quality.

A panel discussion exploring the extent of the backlog facing the NHS in the recovery period and how...

Cite this publication

Quality improvement made simple. The Health Foundation; 2021 (www.health.org.uk/publications/quality-improvement-made-simple).

Further reading

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Work with us

We look for talented and passionate individuals as everyone at the Health Foundation has an important role to play.

View current vacancies

The Q community

Q is an initiative connecting people with improvement expertise across the UK.

Find out more

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Updated in 2021, this third edition outlines what you need to know about health care quality improvement.

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QI Unit - Homepage

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PocEd QI - Fundamentals of Quality Improvement Virtual Course

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PocEd QI - Fundamentals of Quality Improvement Virtual Course

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PocEd QI is a two part live virtual course for ABUHB staff to learn about the fundamentals of Quality Improvement.

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aneurin bevan continuous improvement   tickets

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"The Aneurin Bevan Continuous Improvement (ABCi) centre is about bringing frontline teams together - to learn what works well and what doesn't. We know that the knowledge and experience lies with those delivering care everyday and we are delighted to be supporting colleagues as they shape and lead new ways of working."

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WEAN Anaesthetic Project

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carbon footprint calculator for individuals and households

This carbon calculator is provided free to use

Show you care for the environment and communities across the World by Carbon Offsetting.

You can support Carbon Offsetting Projects that both tackle climate change and support impoverished communities across the world. Just click the 'Offset' button after you have finished your calculation. It takes only a few easy clicks and costs only a few Pounds/Dollars/Euros per tonne CO ₂. You also get a personalised Certificate recognising your offsetting - makes an ideal gift too!

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Carbon Footprint Ltd using RADsite CMS (https://www.radsite.co.uk/)

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Use the World's most popular online carbon footprint calculator, and it's FREE. Calculate your carbon emissions from Buildings, Cars, Flights and other sources.

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Amar Shah

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Sustainable QI

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Have to do a QI project? Why not do one that both improves patient care but also environmental, social and financial outcomes. Use the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare Free Sustainable Quality Improvement resources, teaching templates and casestudies.

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Sustainability - the 7th Domain of Quality in Healthcare

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Sustainability - the 7th Domain of Quality in Healthcare

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Welcome!

The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare hosts and supports these networks to enable communities of like-minded people to collaborate on sustainability in their clinical specialty or area of interest.

Whether you are a patient, health professional, commissioner, educator or other, please sign up or log in to join in discussion: find out about events and resources, ask questions and share ideas for sustainable healthcare in your field.

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The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare hosts and supports these networks to enable communities of like-minded people to collaborate on sustainability in their clinical specialty or area of interest. Whether you are a patient, health professional, commissioner, educator or other, please sign up or log in to join in discussion: find out about events and resources, ask questions and share ideas for sustainable healthcare in your field.

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Example of Green QI Process Map

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Short courses in Sustainability, Health and Healthcare by CSH

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Short courses in Sustainability, Health and Healthcare by CSH

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Sustainable transformation across an organisation requires leadership and engagement from board-level staff. This interactive training workshop, designed for groups of board-level leads and tailored to local requirements, focuses on the expectations for their role in the NHS Net Zero Plan, the unique characteristics of leadership for sustainability, and what they can do to inspire, lead and measure change.

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Short courses in sustainability, health and healthcare

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Our training courses offer a mix of core concepts and case studies, followed by live online workshops with expert advice on applying theory to practice in your setting. Designed for health professionals, educators, sustainability or estates managers, the courses prepare you to implement sustainability projects in your workplace, conduct research and contribute to developing and delivering your organisation's Green Plan.

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Four Principles of Sustainable Healthcare

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Four Principles of Sustainable Healthcare

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SusQI Principles

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The 2020 Annual Tony Jewell Lecture | Prof. David Pencheon | #TonyJewell2020

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Network for Sustainable Healthcare

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A Network for Sustainable Healthcare in Wales

The Climate Crisis is a Health Crisis

Green Health Wales is a network of healthcare professionals in clinical, non-clinical, administrative, support and managerial roles across Wales who recognise that the climate and ecological emergency is a health emergency.

We aim to Connect, Learn & Transform; to connect across Wales, transcending geographical borders while supporting cross-departmental collaboration. We aim to learn more and empower everyone in the health and social care sector in Wales with the tools and knowledge to address the climate crisis - transforming health care to be climate smart.

Our vision is sustainable healthcare that protects the health of people and the planet; the two are inextricably linked. We recognise that healthcare must play an active role in limiting global temperature rise. Find out more about us.

We invite you to connect by your location or speciality, to learn from our collection of resources, and to get inspired by others in working in healthcare across Wales to deliver your own transformational project.

Green Health Wales: The Launch

Do you work in the healthcare sector in Wales? Are you concerned about the planetary health emergency? Do you want to find out what you can do and how to get support?

Join us for our virtual conference on Tuesday 29th June 2021 where we will be launching Green Health Wales: a day of raising awareness, building will, and transferring skill.

The morning begins with expert speakers outlining the link between the climate and health crisis, and the healthcare response required to address the biggest threat to global health of the 21st century.

We will then share learning from both local Welsh initiatives and global sustainable healthcare projects across a breadth of speciality areas.

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The afternoon offers workshops from which you can choose, aimed to equip you with the information and skill to start your own sustainable project, and to grow your idea to meet the challenges and ambitions set out by the NHS Wales Decarbonisation Strategic Delivery Plan.

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Subscribe to our mailing list below to be notified as soon as registration opens!

© 2021 Green Health Wales | Iechyd Gwyrdd Cymru.

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A Network for Sustainable Healthcare in Wales The Climate Crisis is a Health Crisis Green Health Wales is a network of healthcare professionals in clinical, non-clinical, administrative, support and managerial roles across Wales who recognise that the climate and ecological emergency is a health emergency.

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Join the Q Community

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Sustainability is a domain of quality in healthcare. Sustainable value considers patient and population outcomes against environmental, social and economic costs (the "triple bottom line"). Sustainable value can be achieved by applying the principles of sustainable clinical practice: prevention, patient empowerment and self-care, lean service delivery and use of low carbon alternatives.
This SIG brings together people who are passionate about sustainability and interested in improving the sustainable value of the NHS. Please do share case studies of your work on sustainable practice. The SIG is also a forum to discuss the challenges and opportunities for improving sustainability within healthcare so please do post your questions to tap into the knowledge of our community.
To find out more about sustainability in the healthcare context please visit https://sustainablehealthcare.org.uk

This group is convened by Olivia Bush, and was co-founded by Chantelle Rizan and Frances Mortimer .

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Sustainability is a domain of quality in healthcare. Sustainable value considers patient and population outcomes against environmental, social and economic costs (the "triple bottom line"). Sustainable value can be achieved by applying the principles of sustainable clinical practice: prevention, patient empowerment and self-care, lean service delivery and use of low carbon alternatives.

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WAGN

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There is a growing recognition of the climate crisis worldwide. The NHS has a responsibility to examine and update current practice to reduce carbon emissions without compromising patient care.

The Welsh Anaesthetic Green Network (formerly WEAN) is an organisation of interested individuals who wish to reduce the environmental and financial impact of anaesthesia in Wales whilst constantly striving to improve the quality of care patients receive.

Trainees rotating around hospitals often feel as though they don't spend enough time in one place to help make a difference. Once in a consultant post it can be difficult to provide the drive and enthusiasm to instigate projects around the area of sustainable development. This is particularly tough as they are often part of deeply complex non-linear systems which require the development of dense networks throughout the entire structure of the health board in order to achieve anything!

A few of us starting talking, put some feelers out, and decided to develop an anaesthetic green network. Our Inaugural meeting and Sustainable Anaesthesia Innovation Day was held on 6 June 2019 in the Cardiff Bay Life Sciences Hub. We heard great talks from very entertaining speakers, took some interesting photos, and formulated our Mission and our Vision statements. The RCoA accredited the day in-line with their Sustainability Strategy 2019.

To embed sustainable practice as a norm across anaesthetic clinical specialities in Wales, and influence similar approaches across the UK, the EU, and beyond

To take an approach to 'Do no harm' at an individual, community and population level, to improve health for everyone, both now and in the future

To improve the environmental and financial sustainability of anaesthesia across Wales whilst constantly striving to improve the quality of care patients receive

To provide education for staff and students around sustainable working and behaviours. Share ideas, knowledge and innovations in order to support implementation of sustainable practices

To provide a network to promote and share best practice and celebrate success

We want to provide a supportive network of motivated individuals to share ideas and experiences to improve practice. We want to involve all members of the theatre team to increase support for sustainable practices.

As WAGN is in its infancy, a great deal of help and enthusiasm is required to help it become effective and established. Please do get in touch with any ideas, suggestions, or offers of help and expertise.

Alex Morgan - Anaesthetic Specialty Trainee

Farzad Sadaat - Anaesthetic Specialty Trainee

Jayne Sutherland - Anaesthetic Specialty Trainee

Dan O'Donovan - Consultant Anaesthetist, Cardiff & Vale UHB

Fiona Brennan - Consultant Anaesthetist, Cardiff & Vale UHB

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There is a growing recognition of the climate crisis worldwide. The NHS has a responsibility to examine and update current practice to reduce carbon emissions without compromising patient care. The Welsh Anaesthetic Green Network (formerly WEAN) is an organisation of interested individuals who wish to reduce the environmental and financial impact of anaesthesia in Wales whilst constantly striving to improve the quality of care patients receive.

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.. seeks to transform the health sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it becomes ecologically sustainable

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Health Care Without Harm (noharm-global.org)

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Global road map for decarbonization A navigational tool for achieving zero emissions with climate resilience and health equity " Find Out More New film: First, do no harm Learn how experts from around the world are taking action against the health impacts of climate change " Find Out More Sustainable

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To tackle this, organisations in Wales are showing their commitment to healthier and more sustainable forms of transport, by publicly signing a Healthy Travel Charter. Each Charter contains a series of commitments the organisation will make over 3 years to support their staff and visitors to walk and cycle more, take public transport, and switch to electric vehicles.

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To tackle this, organisations in Wales are showing their commitment to healthier and more sustainable forms of transport, by publicly signing a Healthy Travel Charter. Each Charter contains a series of commitments the organisation will make over 3 years to support their staff and visitors to walk and cycle more, take public transport, and switch to electric vehicles.

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We have a law in Wales that helps us all work together to improve our environment, our economy, our society and our culture.

For people, for our planet. For now, and for our future.

This is called the Well-being of Future Generations Act.

The Well-being of Future Generations Act

There are 7 connected well-being goals for Wales. They are:

A prosperous Wales

A resilient Wales

A healthier Wales

A more equal Wales

A Wales of more cohesive communities

A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language

A globally responsible Wales

This is about ensuring that future generations have at least the same quality of life as we do now. The act provides for better decision-making by ensuring that public bodies:

take account of the long term

help to prevent problems occurring or getting worse

take an integrated approach

take a collaborative approach, and

consider and involve people of all ages and diversity.

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We have a law in Wales that helps us all work together to improve our environment, our economy, our society and our culture. For people, for our planet. For now, and for our future. This is called the Well-being of Future Generations Act. There are 7 connected well-being goals for Wales.

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Example Undergraduate Project

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SusQI Change Image

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Public Health England and partners would like to hear from healthcare professionals using the Moving Medicine website. Please follow the link below to participate in our survey. It takes around 5 minutes to complete.

The survey opens in a separate window, and is hosted by Ipsos MORI, an independent research organisation.

If you've previously completed this survey, thank you, please close this message.
Click here to take part

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Public Health England and partners would like to hear from healthcare professionals using the Moving Medicine website. Please follow the link below to participate in our survey. It takes around 5 minutes to complete. The survey opens in a separate window, and is hosted by Ipsos MORI, an independent research organisation.

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Therapeutic use of nature

Nature-based therapy, an emerging field in psychology, is based on research findings suggesting that contact with nature enhances various aspects of human well-being and can alleviate and/or prevent some mental health disorders or concerns. This issue of the Research Digest focuses on therapeutic uses of nature and the outcomes documented with various populations. The research included in this Digest is a selection from a larger set of studies identified as part of a literature review prepared for Casey Family Programs, with whom the Children & Nature Network is collaborating to support the implementation of nature-based therapeutic interventions by their social work staff across the nation. We are excited to be working with a care system with national impact to infuse nature engagement into their repertoire of effective practices to enhance the well-being of children and families.

Sincerely,

Cathy Jordan, PhD
Consulting Research Director

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Therapeutic use of nature Nature-based therapy, an emerging field in psychology, is based on research findings suggesting that contact with nature enhances various aspects of human well-being and can alleviate and/or prevent some mental health disorders or concerns. This issue of the Research Digest focuses on therapeutic uses of nature and the outcomes documented with various populations.