ABC of Quality Improvement in Healthcare

Quality improvement (QI) is embedded in the fabric of successful healthcare organisations across the world, with healthcare professionals increasingly expected to develop and lead improvement as a core part of their clinical responsibilities. As a result, QI is rapidly becoming a feature of the education and training programmes of all healthcare professionals.

Written and edited by some of the leading clinicians and managers in the field, ABC of Quality Improvement is designed for clinicians new to the discipline, as well as experienced leaders of change and improvement. Providing comprehensive coverage and clear, succinct descriptions of the major tools, techniques and approaches, this new addition to the ABC series demystifies quality improvement and develops a broader understanding of what constitutes quality in healthcare. With practical examples of improvement interventions and the common pitfalls that can befall them, this book will support and enable readers to manage change projects within their own organisations.

Relevant to doctors, dentists, nurses, health service managers and support staff, medical students and doctors in training, their tutors and trainers, and other healthcare professionals at various levels, ABC of Quality Improvement will give readers the confidence to embark on their own improvement projects, whoever, and wherever they may be.

Tim Swanwick is Director of Clinical Leadership Development at NHS Leadership Academy, NHS England and NHS Improvement, Leeds, UK. A General Practitioner by background, he is the editor of several books including Understanding Medical Education: Evidence, Theory, and Practice and ABC of Clinical Leadership.

Emma Vaux is a Consultant Nephrologist and General Physician, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, and Vice President for Education and Training at the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), London, UK. She has been the clinical lead at RCP and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges on how to embed quality improvement into postgraduate medical training.

Contributors vi

Preface vii

1 What is Quality? 1
Tim Swanwick and Emma Vaux

2 Quality Improvement 5
Cat Chatfield

3 Quality Improvement and the Healthcare Professional 10
Tricia Woodhead

4 Models of Improvement 14
Karen Evans

5 Getting People on Board 21
Lourda Geoghegan

6 Identifying a Problem 25
Ruth Glassborow

7 Understanding the Problem 29
Joanna Bircher

8 Developing and Testing Solutions 34
James Mountford

9 Measurement 39
Paul Sullivan

10 Embedding and Sustaining a Solution 45
John Dean

11 Spread and Dissemination 50
Aidan Fowler

12 Understanding Change 55
Brian Marshall

13 Creating Cultures of Improvement 59
Kiran Chauhan

14 The Future for Quality Improvement 64
Emma Vaux and Tim Swanwick

Index 69

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