Planning and monitoring

improvements to quality
services in a healthcare setting
 Introduction

A healthcare
Examples: hospitals, Healthcare
establishment is a
clinics, nursing establishments are
facility or
homes, staffed by
organization that
rehabilitation healthcare
provides healthcare
centers, and professionals, such
services to
community health as doctors, nurses,
individuals, families,
centers therapists etc.
or communities.

(Dineen-Griffin et al., 2019)

 Background

 The National Health Service (NHS) is

the main healthcare provider in the
United Kingdom.
 The NHS provides free healthcare
services to residents of England,
Scotland, Wales, and Northern
Ireland.
 The NHS is made up of hospitals,
clinics, GPs, dentists, pharmacists,
and other healthcare providers.

(Etkind et al., 2020)

 Evaluation for the need of improvement

 While the NHS and other healthcare establishments in the UK provide high-
quality care, there are always areas where improvements can be made. Some
of the reasons why improvements are needed include:

Increased demand

Limited resources

Changing healthcare needs

Quality of services

Safety concerns
Importance of quality improvement in
healthcare

Systematic Enhance the

Increased
and effectiveness Better
care delivery
continuous of the health and
and staff
improvement healthcare prosperity
satisfaction
process process
Identification of aspect of improvement

 The increased waiting time has become a challenge for the all the
healthcare establishments globally.
 While in UK, as the NHS is responsible for providing healthcare
services, it is needlessly becoming important to bring change and
improve the process.
 Especially the waiting times in emergency are causing serious
casualties, the purpose of health care quality is not being served.

(World Health Organization, 2021)

Justification of aspect of improvement
Increasing

Patient waiting Patient

times dissatisfaction,
poor perception
of quality,
delayed diagnosis
and treatment,

Decreasing
Stress of staff
 Review of current working practices

 The COVID-19 pandemic has put a significant strain on healthcare

systems worldwide, and the UK's National Health Service (NHS) is no
exception.
 The fall of NHS practices can be attributed to various factors,
including poor management, underfunding, and staffing shortages.
 The pandemic has caused a surge in patients who require care,
leading to a backlog of appointments, diagnostic tests, and
procedures.
 The increased burden on NHS staff has caused significant stress and
burnout, leading to a decrease in the quality of care provided.

(Maphumulo and Bhengu, 2019)

Discussion: why the selected aspect
require improvements
Negative impact on patient outcome

Increased patient dissatisfaction

Staff workload and stress

Resource utilisation
Plan for the change and improvements
Plan for NHS to improve services and decrease waiting times by
introducing telehealth:
1. Developing tele-health strategy
2. Training the staff
3. Establishing partnerships
4. Launching market campaign
5. Conduction of regular evaluation
6. Conduct feedbacks
7. Expansion of services

(Haldane et al., 2019)

 Evaluation of expected outcomes of
the improvement initiative
Improved Reduced
Improved communic staff
patient Enhanced ation and burnout
satisfactio efficiency teamwork and
n and in service among turnover
experience delivery staff rates

Reduced Increased Improved Improved

waiting staff quality of financial
times for satisfactio care and performan
patients n and patient ce of the
morale safety healthcare
establishm
ent
 Implementation of the improvement
initiative
 To implement the improvement initiative, the following steps will be taken:

Assembling the team

Identification of the root cause

Implementation of interventions

Monitoring the progress

Adjustments on the basis of feedback

 Critical review of the plan
 The plan includes identifying key areas where telehealth could be
implemented, developing a strategy, training staff, establishing partnerships
with telehealth providers, launching a marketing campaign, conducting
evaluations, and expanding the use of telehealth over time.
 The timeline for implementation is also reasonable.
 However, the plan could benefit from more detail on how the telehealth
strategy will be developed and what specific interventions will be implemented
to address the identified areas for improvement.
 Additionally, it may be useful to include specific metrics for measuring the
impact of the telehealth service on waiting times and patient outcomes, as
well as a plan for how to address any issues that arise.
(Zonnenshain and Kenett, 2020)
 Producing the plan

Time in (Months) Plan

Month 1-2 Identify key areas for telehealth implementation and

develop a strategy

Month 3-4 Train staff and establish partnerships with telehealth

providers

Month 5-6 Launch a marketing campaign and begin using telehealth in

selected areas

Month 7-8 Conduct evaluations and address any issues that arise

Month 9-12 Expand the use of telehealth to additional areas and

services within the NHS
Discussion: Potential barriers

Lack of resources

Resistance to change

Inadequate training

Limited data available

 Conclusion
In conclusion, quality improvement is an important aspect of healthcare
establishments that can significantly enhance the quality of care
provided to patients. The identification and improvement of working
practices, such as the reduction of waiting times through the
implementation of telehealth, can improve patient satisfaction and
experience, reduce staff burnout and turnover rates, and increase staff
morale. However, there may be barriers to completing such initiatives,
including staff resistance to change, lack of resources, and competing
priorities. Strategies to overcome these barriers include communication
and collaboration, resource allocation, and continuous evaluation and
feedback. By implementing these strategies, healthcare establishments
can successfully complete quality improvement initiatives and enhance
the quality of care provided to patients.
 References
 Dineen-Griffin, S., Garcia-Cardenas, V., Williams, K. and Benrimoj, S.I., 2019. Helping patients help
themselves: a systematic review of self-management support strategies in primary health care
practice. PloS one, 14(8), p.e0220116.
 Etkind, S.N., Bone, A.E., Lovell, N., Cripps, R.L., Harding, R., Higginson, I.J. and Sleeman, K.E.,
2020. The role and response of palliative care and hospice services in epidemics and pandemics: a
rapid review to inform practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of pain and symptom
management, 60(1), pp.e31-e40.
 World Health Organization, 2021. COVID-19 strategic preparedness and response plan: operational
planning guideline: 1 February 2021 to 31 January 2022 (No. WHO/WHE/2021.03). World Health
Organization.
 Maphumulo, W.T. and Bhengu, B.R., 2019. Challenges of quality improvement in the healthcare of
South Africa post-apartheid: A critical review. Curationis, 42(1), pp.1-9.
 Haldane, V., Chuah, F.L., Srivastava, A., Singh, S.R., Koh, G.C., Seng, C.K. and Legido-Quigley, H.,
2019. Community participation in health services development, implementation, and evaluation: A
systematic review of empowerment, health, community, and process outcomes. PloS one, 14(5),
p.e0216112.
 Zonnenshain, A. and Kenett, R.S., 2020. Quality 4.0—the challenging future of quality
engineering. Quality Engineering, 32(4), pp.614-626.
 Appendix
• Specific: To improve communication between staff and service users by
providing staff with training and support to enhance their communication
S skills

• Measurable: To increase the satisfaction of service users with

M communication by 50% within twelve months.

• Achievable: By providing staff with the necessary training and support, the
A initiative is achievable.

• Relevant: Improving communication is directly relevant to the service users'

R experience of the service and the overall efficiency of the service.

T • Time-bound: The initiative will be implemented within twelve months.