Posted on: 26 August 2021
It’s hello and hello again to Bridget Browne! Many in the Trust will know Bridget as she previously worked in CNWL's Quality Improvement (QI) Team before joining Central London Community Health NHS Trust in 2020.
Now, Bridget re-joins CNWL and is excited to support staff and patients in Jameson with their QI projects.
In an interview Bridget talks about her approach to QI and how she supports teams with their projects.
Firstly, Bridget explains how some people can view QI as daunting and adding more to their workload, but it shouldn’t be thought of that way.
“QI shouldn’t be considered separate to what we do, it should become integrated to the way we work. We know and we see that staff have change fatigue because we’re still in a pandemic but QI isn’t another project to add more to your workload, it’s giving you the tools to problem solve in an efficient way - and we’re problem solving all the time in healthcare. Plus, the QI approach in CNWL gives frontline staff and patients the power and tools to make changes in their areas and that can be really good for morale right now."
"It’s the most freeing thing in the world to work in QI because there is no failure only learning. In QI we accept failure as part of our jobs. Sometimes the first thing you try doesn’t work but as you test you understand more about your systems and processes, and you adapt and that has a real impact in terms of improvement."
Something that inspires Bridget to work in QI is how much of a positive change it can make to patient outcomes, plus the ability to work with teams and individuals in a creative way.
"Ultimately why we do this work is we know QI does improve patient care and we’ve seen evidence of that in CNWL. When I was with CNWL previously we worked on reducing violence on wards and teams showed significant reduction, with a combined 46% reduction of violent incidents on 10 wards using QI methodology. It’s rewarding knowing you’re making a real difference for patients and staff."
"You can use creative tools in QI to really start to solve complex problems and I am always happy to facilitate sessions with teams, before the pandemic I used Lego serious play and now virtually I use liberating structures. You may have heard of the concept of psychological safety, these tools help to facilitate open discussions and people start to feel safe talking about what’s not working without feeling like you’re going to be judged or criticised. After that we explore creatively how we can improve."
One question routinely asked to Bridget is should patients and carers be involved in QI projects, and the answer is absolutely yes.
"Any project where we talk about patient care should involve patients or carers. They should be at the table having an active role when you’re having discussions about improvement in the service. If you’re not sure how to involve patients or carers me and my colleagues help facilitate conversations to ensure the patient and carer voice is heard within the team. There is also training available in the Trust for patients and carers so they know the tools and methodologies."
Bridget says “once you start working on a QI project you see everything from a QI lens”. Bridget is an avid potter and has her own studio where she makes all kinds of pots in her spare time. Even when making pottery she uses QI methodology, and it looks like it works:
Welcome back to CNWL Bridget!
More information on how to start a QI project is available here. Any members of staff in Jameson, from administrators to doctors, can email Bridget if they would like any advice or guidance with a future or existing QI project, details are on the QI website.