A project to reduce the number of PIMs (potentially inappropriate medications) on an elderly care ward

"A systematic approach to ward rounds with a ward round checklist offers a rigorous method to reduce the prevalence of PIMs, and the frequency of adverse drug events. This has important implications in the wider context of growing pressures to deliver higher standards of cost effective clinical care."

Less is more: a project to reduce the number of PIMs (potentially inappropriate medications) on an elderly care ward
T H Aung, A J Beck, T Siese, R Berrisford
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;5: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u207857.w4260

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Health Foundation analysis of acute hospital productivity

"The analysis shows that the productivity of acute hospitals in England has continued to deteriorate. Overall, the productivity of acute hospitals increased by only 0.3% between 2009/10 and 2014/15 – an average rate of 0.1% per year."

Acute hospital productivity: Health Foundation analysis of acute hospital productivity from 2009/10 – 2014/15
The Health Foundation
February 2016

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Unbundling recovery: A step-by-step guide to audit and modelling

"This practical guide sets out a methodology for providers to audit whether the recovery aspects of a patient's acute hospital stay could be better provided and to model the impact of varying lengths of stay on tariff and bed utilisation."

Unbundling recovery: A step-by-step guide to audit and modelling
NHS Improving Quality
June 2015

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Transforming end of life care in acute hospitals

"Throughout this guide, you will be encouraged to use existing models and practical tools already identified as examples of good practice. They can help you achieve the improvements you wish to prioritise locally to improve the quality of end of life care for your patients and their families."

Transforming end of life care in acute hospitals: The route to success ‘how to’ guide
NHS England
December 2015

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Sustainability and financial performance of acute hospital trusts

"The Department, NHS England, Monitor and the NHS TDA need to take a more holistic, coordinated approach to tackling trusts’ persistent financial problems and move beyond quick fixes to cut trusts’ spending. Until there is a clear pathway for trusts to get back to financial stability, we cannot be confident that value for money, defined as financial and service sustainability, will be achieved."

Sustainability and financial performance of acute hospital trusts
National Audit Office
December 2015

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A qualitative study of how hospital innovations become routine

"Hospitals have an opportunity to promote the integration of new practices by planning for the extended effort required to hold a new practice in place while integration mechanisms take hold. By understanding how integrating mechanisms correspond to innovation characteristics, hospitals may be able to foster integrating mechanisms most likely to work for particular innovations."

Integrating new practices: a qualitative study of how hospital innovations become routine
AL Brewster, LA Curry, EJ Cherlin, K Talbert-Slagle, LI Horwitz, EH Bradley
Implementation Science 2015, 10:168  doi:10.1186/s13012-015-0357-3

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Improving documentation within the acute stroke unit

"The results of this project have shown that by introducing a stroke specific clerking document, the quality of information recorded has significantly improved."

Improving documentation within the acute stroke unit: Introducing a stroke specific clerking proforma
S Patel
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u208852.w3847

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Implementing the NICE guideline on Transition between inpatient hospital settings and community or care home settings for adults with social care needs

"Overall, it is expected that implementing the guideline will be cost saving. Implementing the guideline is likely to have resource implications (both costs and savings) for health and social care commissioners and for providers"

Implementing the NICE guideline on Transition between inpatient hospital settings and community or care home settings for adults with social care needs (NG27) 
NICE (Costing statement)
December 2015

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Improving paediatric prescribing practice in a district general hospital

"A driver diagram identified three components contributing to prescribing errors and relevant tests of change were developed. The three primary drivers included education and communication, practical prescribing changes, and medicine reconciliation."

Improving paediatric prescribing practice in a district general hospital through implementation of a quality improvement programme
P Donnelly, S Lawson, C Watterson
BMJ Quality Improvement Report2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u206996.w3769

 

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Children and young people's survey 2014

"This is the first national children’s survey conducted by CQC. It represents the experiences of nearly 19,000 children and young people who received inpatient or day case care in 137 acute NHS trusts in 2014."

Children and young people's survey 2014
Care Quality Commission
July 2015

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Reducing hospital acquired pressure ulcers in intensive care

"The measures or changes to practice used to reduce hospital acquired pressure ulcers in the intensive care department achieved their goal and incidences of hospital acquired pressure ulcers decreased."

Reducing hospital acquired pressure ulcers in intensive care
E Cullen Gill
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u205599.w3015

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Hospital finances and productivity: in a critical condition?

"NHS hospitals have only improved efficiency at an average rate of 0.4% a year over this parliament. This is substantially below previous estimates and the 2-3% set out in the NHS Five year forward view."

Hospital finances and productivity: in a critical condition?
S Lafond, A Charlesworth, A Roberts
The Health Foundation
April 2015

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Oxygen Delivery on Medical Wards

"This quality improvement project attempted to improve oxygen prescribing and subsequent dose adjusting on various medical wards."

Oxygen Delivery on Medical Wards
C Dickson
BMJ Quality Improvement Report 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u206934.w2785

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Mortality meetings in geriatric medicine: strategies for improvement

"Mortality meetings are an essential part of junior doctor training and hospital clinical governance. There is a tendency for these meetings to be poorly organised, poorly focused and poorly attended, especially by disciplines other than doctors. In this improvement project we were able to make our mortality meetings more multidisciplinary and a better learning experience for staff."

Mortality meetings in geriatric medicine: strategies for improvement
J Dunbar, J George
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u202625.w3247

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Acute hospitals and integrated care: From hospitals to health systems

"This report explores the role that acute hospitals can play in integrated care, drawing on learning from five case study sites in England where acute hospital providers have engaged actively with the integration agenda."

Acute hospitals and integrated care: From hospitals to health systems
C Naylor, H Alderwick, M Honeyman
The King's Fund
March 2015

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Improving safety through the establishment of a Hospital Alcohol Liaison Service

"The message to others is to ensure that in establishing a new service, this should be done with complete staff engagement in respect to understanding the direct effect of service change on creating a positive patients pathway with sustained positive clinical outcomes. The frontline workforce are key in delivering changes, therefore it is imperative that they are fully involved in the process."

Improving safety - through the establishment of a Hospital Alcohol Liaison Service (HALS), alongside the launch of a therapeutic Chlordiazepoxide prescribing Detoxification Regime
Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
NICE Shared learning example
January 2015

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Mergers in the NHS

"We are not convinced that the evidence base is strong enough on the role of competition relative to other drivers of quality. We think that it is right that there is some external scrutiny of merger decisions and accept that competition should be part of that process. However, a broader test which explicitly considers a range of factors (including competition) and makes specific reference to the views of commissioners as well as the sector regulator might be an improvement on the current process."

Mergers in the NHS: Lessons from the decision to block the proposed merger of hospitals in Bournemouth and Poole
E Spencelayh, J Dixon
The Health Foundation
December 2014

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Safe staffing for nursing in adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals

"The guideline identifies organisational and managerial factors that are required to support safe staffing for nursing, and makes recommendations for monitoring and taking action if there are not enough nursing staff available to meet the nursing needs of patients on the ward.Safe staffing for nursing in adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals"

Safe staffing for nursing in adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals
NICE Guidelines [SG1]
July 2014

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NHS hospitals under pressure: trends in acute activity up to 2022

"In this analysis we look at trends in admissions and bed use over the last few years, and use population projections to explore the likely pressures on hospitals in the future."

NHS hospitals under pressure: trends in acute activity up to 2022
P Smith, A McKeon, I Blunt, N Edwards
Nuffield Trust
October 2014

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Do variations in hospital mortality patterns after weekend admission reflect reduced quality of care?

"Not every diagnostic group demonstrates a weekend effect, and those that do are associated with quite different risk profiles, suggestive of different causal pathways. Recognising how these different patterns shape the impact of weekend admissions should lead to more diagnosis- and service-specific analyses and solutions."

Do variations in hospital mortality patterns after weekend admission reflect reduced quality of care or different patient cohorts? A population-based study
O Perez Concha, B Gallego, K Hillman, GP Delaney, E Coiera
BMJ Quality and Safety, 2014; 23(3): 215-222

Read more here.