Open access. Since its publication in 2008, SQUIRE (Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence) has contributed to the completeness and transparency of reporting of quality improvement work, providing guidance to authors and reviewers of reports on healthcare improvement work. In the interim, enormous growth has occurred in understanding factors that influence the success, and failure, of healthcare improvement efforts. Progress has been particularly strong in three areas: the understanding of the theoretical basis for improvement work; the impact of contextual factors on outcomes; and the development of methodologies for studying improvement work. Consequently, there is now a need to revise the original publication guidelines. To reflect the breadth of knowledge and experience in the field, we solicited input from a wide variety of authors, editors and improvement professionals during the guideline revision process. This Explanation and Elaboration document (E&E) is a companion to the revised SQUIRE guidelines, SQUIRE 2.0.
April 2016: Statement 4 describing the use of compression stockings was removed. This is because the guidance from NICE has been updated and the advice on using compression stockings has changed. All other information remains the same.
Open access. Improving healthcare services can all too easily become synonymous with the use of certain in vogue tools for improving quality. Trigger tools, run charts and driver diagrams are just three examples of techniques used by frontline staff who are undertaking improvement work. Educators seeking to teach improvement are similarly faced with long lists of possible approaches and techniques with which to fill their course descriptions. As a consequence the temptation for improvement leaders and teachers is to include yet another technique in an already crowded curriculum, to add in more ‘stuff’.
But what if focusing so much on the tools is actually unhelpful? What if our attempts to create better and safer organisations is muddled rather than enhanced by the growing interest in so many techniques? Could we be putting off the very people we need to engage by the use of what can be seen as jargon? Might it lead people to see improvement as an event or a ‘project’ rather than as a way of working?
Read Chris Hall's latest blog, a reflection on the national guardian role and its impact on local guardians.
This is the fourth part in a series of blogs from Chris Hall, freedom to speak up guardian at Hounslow and Richmond Community NHS Trust, in which he shares his experiences as a guardian and the difference his role is making to staff and the organisation's culture around raising concerns.
PLACE stands for Patient Led Assessment of the Care Environment. A PLACE Assessment focuses entirely on the care environment and does not assess clinical care provision.
There are four areas that are assessed: access to privacy for patients and respect for their dignity, food and hydration, cleanliness, and general building condition and maintenance. Assessment teams are made up of 50% staff and 50% service users.
Each year, the PLACE inspection team visits all of our inpatient wards, making sure that Greater Manchester West is providing the best environments for its service users. The team looks at a variety of standards such as cleanliness, quality of the food, privacy and dignity and the buildings general condition and maintenance.
The inspection team is made up of GMW staff and service users.
Last week Trusts from Cornwall and Somerset met to look at how their services meet the needs of those living with a learning disability and epilepsy.
Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trusts (CFT) Learning Disability Epilepsy Team met with staff from Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Community Learning Disability Team to look at how their services work to meet the needs of their patients and the different models of service design from a patient perspective.
In March we were visited by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) who inspected our services. They have now published their reports. We welcome this independent view of our services as an opportunity to continue improving our services for local people.
Without exception, all of our services were found to be caring and the reports highlight how our staff treat people with kindness, care and compassion. Across our 14 service line reports, more than 70% of the individual ratings are ‘Good’ (green).
Draft guidance from NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) outlines what the best palliative care for children looks like.
It emphasises the need for infants, children and young people to be treated as individuals and highlights the importance of children and their families being involved in decisions about care.
England's Chief Inspector of Hospitals has told Surrey and Borders Partnerships NHS Foundation Trust that it must make improvements to some services following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.
Overall, the trust has been rated as Requires Improvement for providing safe and well led services, and rated Good for being caring, effective and responsive to people’s needs.
Below are some of the timeless instructions on how to be a terrible employee. What’s most amusing is that despite the dry language and specificity of the context, the productivity-crushing activities recommended are all-too-common behaviors in many organizations.