17 September 2024

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Welcome to the September 2024 edition of the Improvement Academy news. As we start the Academic Year of 2024-25, it’s a good opportunity to share the education, development and opportunities available to you as CNWL staff.

In addition, we have introductions to new members to the QI team and Faculty and announcements on the upcoming Trust wide Improvement Collaborative and Level 3 Gold QI training

In this issue, you will find the following:


 

Having an engaged and enthusiastic team can drive your Quality Improvement (QI) project towards success and sustainability

Team engagement with QI is pivotal to a project’s success. At CNWL, we want you to feel you can make a difference and this includes being involved with any improvement work, either directly involved, as a subject matter expert (SME) / Experience by Experience (EbE) or even as the project lead or team member.

It’s important to gain team engagement at the beginning of your project to get off to a good start.

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Image credit: LifeQI

An engaged team has…

  • Shared objectives –If you are all working towards the same goal, it can help build team cohesion and assist with other team activities in work, not just the QI project you are working on.
  • Better collaboration – we often find that QI projects involve members from different areas and roles across CNWL. Projects are a great opportunity to build your networks across the Trust.
  • High levels of motivation – enthusiastic staff members will find it easier to gel with colleagues and achieve the project goals in a timely manner.
  • Clear communication – ensuring all roles have an equal voice  in sharing their expertise and knowledge at project meetings and between. There should be open and transparent communication at all times to allow honesty and trust to build within the team.
  • Autonomy – give each person ‘permission’ to act on their own accordance. They are experienced members of staff and should feel empowered to make decisions, when needed, and problem-solve involving the necessary people as and when is needed. This will also support with growing their confidence and commitment to see the project succeed (and be sustained).
  • Feelings of being valued, appreciated and recognised for their work – we often find that teams ‘forget’ to celebrate the wins of the project at each stage. We actively encourage getting together as a team and reflecting on the work done so far. What are your positives? What are problems you’ve overcome even though you didn’t think you could? What learning has happened already? How can you celebrate your gains?

Top tips to help your team engagement and your project to flourish:
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  1. Create a psychologically safe environment where staff members feel safe to share any opinions or concerns/worries with no consequences, no matter the hierarchy or roles of those around them.
  2. Find out what intrinsically motivates your team, colleagues & peers so you can ‘tap’ into these during the QI project. Read more on What is Intrinsic Motivation and How Does It Work?
  3. Ask ‘What Matters to You’ which helps us identify projects that are meaningful to our teams. There’s more information here: IHI Framework for Improving Joy In Work Appendix A – “What Matters to You?” Conversation Guide).
  4. Identify your ‘key players’ via Stakeholder Mapping (these are your key stakeholders to drive the project forward and sometimes they even manage to get others on board with them). NHS Elect have a useful guide and template that can be found here.

If you need any support with building your improvement project team contact us.  We are here to help.

If you need any support with building your improvement project team contact us.  We are here to help.

Further reading/resources:

An introduction to the COM-B Model - March 2022 - Improvement Academy Newsletter

CNWL case study: Improving access to the Rapid Engagement and Support Team on Thames Ward
 

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Celebrating Success – Improvement Stories from around CNWL

Project Whiteboard: easing patient flow in Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea (KCW)

Project Whiteboard specifically aimed to bridge the gap between the ward and teams in the Community Mental Health Hubs (CMHHs), recognising that improving these links would significantly strengthen the continuity of care. Initial data indicates a marked improvement in the speed and accuracy of patient handovers. The 80% contact target was surpassed (82% achieved), 90% of staff involved believe these new methods are useful to them and 70% have agreed that the referral process is much easier as a result of these changes.

Read the full story and see the team here.
 

Double recognition for CNWL at the Bristol Patient Safety Conference

Two CNWL quality improvement projects and their learnings have won awards at the 2024 Bristol Patient Safety Conference. The projects presented were:

  • Reducing the use of seclusion in an inpatient mental health setting (presented by Dr Mark Brewerton)
  • Development of an Integrated Electronic Platform for ADHD Medication Initiation in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (presented by Dr Noah Stanton)

Read the full story, access their project posters and results here.
 

Urgent Community Response, Milton Keynes: improving our safety netting processes

The team recently started a project to improve safety processes in the service, which provides responsive care to residents of Milton Keynes 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Project has now developed into 3 strands:

  • Patient information on core conditions to be used face to face;
  • Patient information for care homes;
  • and patient information for phone consultations.

The team used QI methodology to test a number of ideas.  At present they have identified 5 PDSA ramps, and are actively testing 3 of them. Read the full story here.
 

QI Team reflect on their time at the International Forum for Safety and Quality 2024

Members of the QI team had the brilliant opportunity to attend the International Forum on Quality & Safety in Healthcare back in April of this year. It’s been a few months so we thought what better time to reflect on our time there, what we took away from the experience, and how we can apply this into our coaching and networking with colleagues from across the Trust. See a few photos from the event and read the full story, with quotes from team members, here.

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Introducing new members to the QI Team

The QI Team would like to welcome Bridget Browne as the new Head of Quality Improvement, and our new QI Clinical Fellow, Kallpana Dhas.
 

Bridget Browne, Head of Quality Improvement

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Bridget has spent over 20 years in the NHS, beginning her career in CNWL working in Addictions in 2002. Her career took a significant turn in 2018 when she became the QI Programme Manager for CNWL’s partnership with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Bridget is a trained Improvement Advisor with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, having first developed her improvement skills in LEAN methodology during her time as a Programme Manager in Service Redesign.

Bridget re-joins the QI team after working as a Senior Strategy and Transformation Lead in Jameson Division. Beyond her role at CNWL, Bridget also works as an Associate Director with NHS Elect, where she is a member of the QI faculty.

Bridget is excited to continue to develop Quality Improvement at CNWL. "I am looking forward to re-joining the QI team to help shape QI and sustainable change in the organisation whilst helping staff and Experts by Experience develop their QI knowledge and practical application of the methodology.”
 

Kallpana Dhas, QI Clinical Fellow

Kallpana Dhas.jpgKallpana graduated in medicine in 2021 and completed her foundation training in Newcastle. Seeking new opportunities, she moved to London and spent a year as an Undergraduate Clinical Teaching Fellow at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. During this time, she discovered a real passion for both medical education and quality improvement.

Aiming to expand her passion in these subjects, Kallpana decided to take on the role of Quality Improvement (QI) and Medical Education Fellow at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust. Having previously supported medical students in completing QI projects, she is eager to dive into this role and be part of a team that values ongoing improvement and innovation in healthcare.

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Expert by Experience (EbE) updates

We are proud that across CNWL, we are maintaining an extremely high proportion of active QI projects with a formed project team having logged EbE involvement on Life QI. For August 2024, 83% of our projects have meaningful EbE involvement.

Save the date! 18 November is our annual celebration event

  • Have you had an EbE / SU&C present in your project and you’d like to celebrate them?
  • Are you a Service User and/or Carer who would like to celebrate the success of a project with your CNWL colleagues?
  • Have you seen or heard of a project somewhere where the SU&C input has been invaluable and you’d like to share?

We continue to plan for our celebration event on Monday 18 November. It’ll run from 10am to 1.30pm, with some time to lunch and network afterwards.

There will be an Eventbrite link shared so you can book your place. If you’d like to register your interest, send an email to cnw-tr.improvementsupport@nhs.net.
 

Would you like support to involve EbEs in your improvement work?

The QI and Involvement Teams facilitate a collaborative working group called the EbE Improvement Forum. This group comprises of EbEs who have used CNWL services and are passionate about improving services. 

Our EbE forum members bring unique perspectives and insights to your improvement work which help ensure that your improvement work is going to be meaningful and have the best impact for those who use your service.

These forums are held every five weeks via Zoom. The three available slots for each forum are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and the next available date is:

  • Monday 14 October 2024, 1.30-3pm (20 mins slot per team)

Interested teams can book one of the three available 20-minute slots by contacting the QI Team via cnw-tr.improvementsupport@nhs.net.
 

EbE Newsletter

Our EbE newsletters celebrate collaborative working between CNWL staff and Expert by Experience colleagues across various improvement projects in the Trust.

If you’d like to be featured in future newsletters, we’re asking to hear from any project teams who have had meaningful involvement from EbE(s) and would like to share your story. Please get in touch via email: cnw-tr.improvementsupport@nhs.net.

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Improvement Collaborative launching this Autumn 2024

The new Improvement Collaborative (the fourth of its type at CNWL) will be commencing soon in Autumn 2024, and plans to run for 18 months.

An improvement collaborative is a programme designed to support teams to come together regularly, both in-person and virtually, to plan, deliver and sustain improvements. Some of the exciting benefits of taking part are:

  • Staff empowered to make decisions & participate in improving quality of care for patients
  • Improved staff wellbeing and reduction of stress
  • Improved staff understanding of improvement methodology in a collaborative learning environment

This is a high-level training programme that will provide all participants with the essential knowledge and skills in improvement. Discussions have started with teams involved, and we look forward to sharing exciting updates in due course with the entire Trust.

Watch this space for more details on ‘iCollab4’.

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Upcoming Training Opportunities - building your QI knowledge

The Improvement Academy offers a full education programme open to anyone in CNWL and any EbE who is actively working with a QI project team in CNWL.


Level 1 (Bronze) QI Training - Bitesize QI (CPD Accredited Training)

Level 1 bitesize QI training.jpgStart your improvement learning journey with us via an interactive 3.5hr session providing you with a comprehensive introduction to Quality Improvement (with participation actively encouraged throughout!). You will learn about the Model for Improvement and how to be a part of any QI project.

All roles and bands are welcome, you do not need to be leading or involved in a pre-existing QI project to attend. You can also attend as a refresher if you feel this would be beneficial for you.

Places for Bitesize QI continue to book up well in advance and quickly so we have now enabled the waiting list option on LDZ so you can register your interest and if a place becomes available, it’ll be offered to you!

Please search LDZ for Level 1 Bitesize QI Training to enrol onto an available date or join a waiting list.


Level 2 (Silver) QI Training – How to run a QI Project (CPD Accredited Training)

Level 2 silver QI training.pngThis training, delivered over a 4-month period, is designed to provide staff with the skills and experience to run a QI project; it picks up where the Bitesize training left off. The course is a virtual workshop-based programme and is CPD accredited. It will help anyone in a QI project team and is especially useful if a member of staff wishes to take on the role of Project Team Leader.

We are already underway with Cohort 5, and learners are gaining a lot from attending. Satisfaction with the course is consistently high and we encourage you to consider the training for yourself and pass on this information to colleagues who would benefit from this training.

We are pleased to announce that we are already planning for our next cohort, likely starting Spring 2025. To be placed on the expression of interest list, email us: cnw-tr.improvementsupport@nhs.net

Please contact the QI Team on cnw-tr.improvementsupport@nhs.net if you would like to talk to someone about  Level 2 (silver) QI Training: How to run a QI Project, and the team will be eager to help you decide if this course is for you!


Level 3 (Gold) QI training: Leading Improvement for Senior Leaders (CPD Accredited Training)

Level 3 Gold QI training.pngAre you a senior leader who wants to lead improvement of your services and adopt an improvement approach to your role? Do you want to know how to sponsor teams doing QI projects? If so, then this is the course for you.

We are pleased to be opening applications for the next CNWL Level 3 (Gold) QI training: Leading Improvement for Senior Leaders, which will be held in-person on Thursday 14 November 2024.

This CPD Accredited full day workshop-based training is aimed at senior leaders (Band 8a and above). This course offers training and tools to help senior leaders to; adopt an improvement approach to their day to day work, sponsor an improvement project and support teams to use an improvement approach.

To book your place or for more information, go to LDZ and search for Level 3 (Gold) QI Training: Leading improvement for senior leaders under the Leadership and Management and Improvement Academy (Quality Improvement) tabs.

The deadline to apply for the course is 5pm on 3 November 2024. If you have any further queries, please email the QI Team on cnw-tr.improvementsupport@nhs.net

All QI training provided by the Improvement Academy can be booked via LDZ. For full information and resources relating to QI in CNWL, visit the Improvement Academy Microsite.


Book time with us to discuss everything QI!

QI clinic logo.pngThe QI Clinic is here to support your improvement ideas. Any CNWL team who would like help with any aspect of their QI project can book into a QI clinic. We have two slots every Friday, 12pm and 12.30pm.

To book, send a request stating your preferred date and time to

cnw-tr.improvementsupport@nhs.net and we shall confirm back to you with a diary invite and link to your QI clinic slot. 

We look forward to speaking with you! 

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Useful Links

If you have any feedback about this newsletter, or you would like anything including in the next edition, please get in touch as we would love to hear from you!