High performing hospitals: a qualitative systematic

"The objective of this study was to undertake a systematic review of qualitative literature to identify methods used to identify high performing hospitals, the factors associated with high performers, and practical strategies for improvement."

High performing hospitals: a qualitative systematic review of associated factors and practical strategies for improvement
N Taylor, R Clay-Williams, E Hogden, J Braithwaite, O Groene
BMC Health Services Research 2015, 15:244  doi:10.1186/s12913-015-0879-z

Read more here.

5 basic hospital inefficiencies and their quick fixes

"Although many of the issues that lead to inefficiency may be complex, there are still some quick fixes that can add up to huge savings in both staff time and money. Here are some of the most common hospital inefficiencies and some simple strategies that can help to correct them"

5 basic hospital inefficiencies and their quick fixes
J Henry
Healthcare Dive
February 2015

Read more here.  

NHS services - open seven days a week: every day counts

"Building on the case studies which were presented in Equality for All: Delivering safe care - seven days a week, this publication provides further evidence of what can be achieved by sharing the learning that is emerging from across the NHS."

NHS services - open seven days a week: every day counts
NHS Improving Quality
November 2013

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Improving patient flow across organisations and pathways

"This scan compiled research about the methods used to improve patient flow across organisations or pathways."

Improving patient flow across organisations and pathways
D de Silva
The Health Foundation
November 2013

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A review of the NHS hospitals complaints system putting patients back in the picture

"This Review was instigated by the Prime Minister to consider the handling of concerns and complaints in NHS hospital care in England."

A review of the NHS hospitals complaints system putting patients back in the picture
A Clwyd, T Hart
HM Government
October 2013

Read more here.

BMA Position Paper: 7-day services

"We set out in this paper, what we understand to be the various drivers for the move to more 7-day services, what this means in practical terms, particularly in relation to doctors and their ability to provide high quality patient care, and where the BMA is positioned."

BMA Position Paper: 7-day services
British Medical Association
October 2013

Read more here.

Qualitative assessment of visitor and migrant use of the NHS in England

"These 2 reports, commissioned by the Department of Health, provide evidence of the impact overseas visitors and migrants are having in GP practices and NHS hospitals."

Access these reports here.

Healthcare technologies, quality improvement programs and hospital organizational culture in Canadian hospitals

"The usage of quality improvement programs is related to the ability to implement technology and the culture within a hospital."

Healthcare technologies, quality improvement programs and hospital organizational culture in Canadian hospitals
RK Tyagi, L Cook, J Olson, J Belohlav
BMC Health Services Research, 2013, 13:413

Read more here.

Measuring a caring culture in hospitals

"Characteristics of the instruments included in this review could provide useful input for the design of a reliable and valid instrument for measuring a caring culture in hospitals."

Measuring a caring culture in hospitals: a systematic review of instruments
G Hesselink, E Kuis, M Pijnenburg, H Wollersheim
BMJ Open, 2013, 3:e003416

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Quest for integrated health and social care

"Canterbury provides much food for thought for the many clinicians, funders and managers interested in better demand management in primary care, allied to significant improvements in hospital efficiency that in turn have an impact on the use of social care."

Quest for integrated health and social care: a case study in Canterbury, New Zealand
N Timmins, C Ham
The King's Fund
September 2013

Read more here.

Comparison of experiences of the surgical safety checklist in hospitals

"Consistent use, completion and fidelity of checklist deployment are not straightforward in any setting, but may be higher in the two UK hospitals compared with the hospital in a low-income country."

A qualitative study comparing experiences of the surgical safety checklist in hospitals in high-income and low-income countries
EL Aveling, P McCulloch, M Dixon-Woods
BMJ Open, 2013, 3:e003039

Read more here.

Commissioning for carers

"Commissioning well for carers can:

• Reduce admissions to hospital and residential care.
• Reduce the costs of delays in transfers of care.
• Reduce carers’ need to access primary care as a result of their caring role.
• Reduce overall spending on care."

Commissioning for Carers: Key principles for Clinical Commissioning Groups
Carers Trust
July 2013

Read more here.

Hospital strategies associated with 30-day readmission rates for patients with heart failure

"Several strategies were associated with lower hospital RSRRs for patients with heart failure."

Hospital strategies associated with 30-day readmission rates for patients with heart failure
EH Bradley, L Curry, LI Horwitz, H Sipsma, Y Wang, MN Walsh, D Goldmann, N White, IL Pina, HM Krumholz
Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 2013, 6(4):444-450

Read more here.

Achieving an integrated digital care record

"This document sets out the benefits case for adopting safe digital record keeping as a precursor to achieving integrated digital care records across the health and care system. It provides further details and support for NHS Trusts, including Foundation Trusts, relating to their progress from paper to paper-light and ultimately paperless record keeping. It provides full details of the process for applications to the Safer Hospitals, Safer Wards Technology Fund."

Safer hospitals, safer wards: achieving an integrated digital care record
NHS England
July 2013

Read more here.

Reforming healthcare systems on a locally integrated basis

"Health system reforms aimed at creating geographically based networks influenced primary healthcare practices both among themselves (horizontal collaborations) and with hospitals (vertical collaborations)."

Reforming healthcare systems on a locally integrated basis: is there a potential for increasing collaborations in primary healthcare?
M Breton, R Pineault, JF Levesque, D Roberge, R Borges Da Silva, A Prudhomme
BMC Health Services Research, 2013, 13:262

Read more here.

Two new QIPP themed cased studies

NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has published two new QIPP case studies:

• Self management for chronic knee pain: using group physiotherapy to teach exercises and coping strategies - 
• Wireless working in hospitals: improving efficiency and safety of out-of-hours care 

Delivering major improvements in dementia care and research by 2015

"The NHS routinely collects data on patients as they receive care, which is a rich source of information about how disease and treatments work. The information collected includes data on biomarkers, diagnosis, treatment and clinical outcomes. This information is vital to understanding how the NHS and Social Care system can improve outcomes for patients, yet it remains a relatively untapped resource."

The Prime Minister's Challenge on dementia: Delivering major improvements in dementia care and research by 2015: annual report of progress
Department of Health
May 2013

Read more here.

Patterns of maternity care in English NHS hospitals 2011/12

"The work presented in this report was focused to defining intrapartum care indicators that can be robustly derived at hospital level using Hospital Episode Statistics data. Further work is needed to understand the relationships between the indicators as well as patterns of care that can be observed within hospitals."

Patterns of maternity care in English NHS hospitals
H Knight, et al.
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
2013

Read more here.

Medical device alarm safety in hospitals

"These devices present a multitude of challenges and opportunities for health care organizations when their alarms create similar sounds, when their default settings are not changed, and when there is a failure to respond to their alarm signals."

Medical device alarm safety in hospitals
The Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alert
Joint Commission
Issue 50
April 2013

Read more here.

Improving patient flow

"The Health Foundation created the Flow Cost Quality improvement programme to focus on the relationship between patient flow, costs and outcomes in two NHS hospital trusts: South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust."

Improving patient flow: learning report
The Health Foundation
April 2013

Read more here.

Case studies available here.