Quality improvement methodology (QI) is a key skill in improving services for patients in healthcare.

Dr Danielle Franklin is the QI Lead for the APAGBI. She is a paediatric anaesthetist working for Plymouth University Hospital NHS Trust, Q fellow and human factors module lead for Plymouth University.  Working together with the APA council the QI team are leading a strong patient safety ethos within the remit of the APA.

Join us at the ASM in June (Sheffield) where there is a QI workshop and dedicated session on patient safety. Together we can improve the care of children and their families by using QI and human factors methods. 

Resources to help you with your QI project can be found on the resources page.

For further questions or information: QI@apagbi.org.uk

Resources – QI and Human factors

“Improving quality is about making health care safe, effective, patient-centred, timely, efficient and equitable. In the history of the NHS, there has never been a greater focus on improving the quality of health services.” The Health Foundation

Quality improvement (QI) is a key part of improving services for patients in healthcare. All QI methodology uses small cycles of change with continuous measurement these are called PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) cycles. Measuring outcome with high quality simple data is key to improving services. Equally human factors methods are used to improve services. Here we provide you with some easily accessible resources on to start you on improvement your journey. A good overview video on YouTube on QI :Quality improvement in healthcare

Online resources to learn about QI

• IHI Resources tab
• RCOA
• Quality improvement made simple (Health foundation)

Human factors/ergonomics resources

• Clinical human factors group
• Safety Differently
• Systems thinking

Supporting QI work

• Health foundation
• Health improvement Scotland
• HSCQI
• The Q network.  Q is an initiative connecting people with improvement expertise across the UK. Here you can find Q fellows in your region who have the skills, knowledge and expertise in QI. Contact Q fellows in your region to help with your project. 
• https://qi.elft.nhs.uk/ Excellent resources 

Publications with QI focus

• BMJ Quality and Safety
• BMJ Open Quality (previously BMJ Quality Improvement Reports) 
• International Journal for Quality in Healthcare

Already started on a project?

Submit your abstract for the QI prize at the APA ASM

Register your project at Life QI and work together as a team on your project at https://uk.lifeqisystem.com/login/. This platform is designed to save you time keeping all your resources together and record your progress.