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

Read more here.

Improving pain assessment and managment in stroke patients

"After introducing the Abbey pain scale and creating a nurse advocate, an improvement was shown such that only 5% of patients did not have their pain recorded and all had adequate pain relief."

Improving pain assessment and managment in stroke patients
J Nesbitt, S Moxham, G Ramadurai, L Williams
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u203375.w3105

Read more here.

Management of transient ischaemic attacks in the emergency department

"This educational intervention has improved patient safety and has been seen to be sustainable on the second improvement cycle."

Management of transient ischaemic attacks in the emergency department: a quality improvement project
S Wydall, A Gordon, M Sims
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2014;3: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u205496.w2443

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Effect of a national primary care pay for performance scheme on emergency hospital admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions

"We found relative reductions in rates of emergency admissions for conditions incentivised under the Quality and Outcomes Framework scheme, particularly for coronary heart disease and stroke."

Effect of a national primary care pay for performance scheme on emergency hospital admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions: controlled longitudinal study
MJ Harrison, M Dusheiko, M Sutton, H Gravelle, T Doran, M Roland
BMJ 2014;349:g6423

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Facilitators and barriers to applying a national quality registry for quality improvement in stroke care

"the quality improvement process needs to be facilitated by stakeholders collaborating within and outside the context, who know how to initiate, perform, and evaluate quality improvement, and who have the resources to do so."

Facilitators and barriers to applying a national quality registry for quality improvement in stroke care
AC Eldh, M Fredriksson, C Halford, L Wallin, T Dahlström, S Vengberg, U Winblad
BMC Health Services Research 2014, 14:354

Read more here.

Organising health care services for people with an acquired brain injury

"The review found evidence to support integrated care, early supported discharge and quality monitoring interventions however, this evidence was based on studies conducted with people following stroke and may not be appropriate for all people with an ABI."

Organising health care services for people with an acquired brain injury: an overview of systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials
K Laver et al.
BMC Health Services Research 2014, 14:397

Read more here.

Variations and inter-relationship in outcome from emergency admissions in England

"Hospital-level risk-standardised outcomes for emergency admissions across a range of specialties vary considerably and cross traditional speciality boundaries. This suggests that global institutional infra-structure and processes of care influence outcomes."

Variations and inter-relationship in outcome from emergency admissions in England: a retrospective analysis of Hospital Episode Statistics from 2005-2010
PJ Holt, S Sinha, BA Ozdemir, A Karthikesalingam, JD Poloniecki, MM Thompson
BMC Health Services Research, 2014, 14: 270

Read more here.

Did a quality improvement collaborative make stroke care better?

"Some aspects of stroke care improved during the quality improvement collaborative, but the effects of the quality improvement collaborative were modest and further improvement is needed." 

Did a quality improvement collaborative make stroke care better? A cluster randomized trial
M Power, PJ Tyrrell, AG Rudd, MP Tully, D Dalton, M Marshall, I Chappell, D Corgié, D Goldmann, D Webb, M Dixon-Woods, G Parry
Implementation Science, 2014, 9: 40

Read more here.

Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme interactive results maps

"These interactive maps allow you to find information about stroke services for your local provider. You can compare different standards of care within your team, and compare your local provider to other providers and against regional and national averages."

SSNAP clinical audit: interactive results maps
Royal College of Physicians
May 2014

Access the maps here.

Focus on Stroke

In February the National Institute for Health Research launched their new Focus on Stroke website. The website showcases NIHR research activities, including a searchable list of studies, patient information resources, and stroke research case studies.

Find out more and access all of the resources here.

The effect of a national quality improvement collaborative on prehospital care

"This first national prehospital QIC led to significant improvements in ambulance care for AMI and stroke in England. The use of care bundles as measures, clinical engagement, application of quality improvement methods, provider prompts, individualized feedback and opportunities for learning and interaction within and across organizations helped the collaborative to achieve its aims."

The effect of a national quality improvement collaborative on prehospital care for acute myocardial infarction and stroke in England
AN Siriwardena, D Shaw, N Essam, FJ Togher, Z Davy, A Spaight, M Dewey
Implementation Science, 2014, 9:17

Read more here.

Cost-effectiveness of a universal strategy of brief dietary intervention for primary prevention in primary care

"A healthy diet is associated with reduced risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. The study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a universal strategy to promote healthy diet through brief intervention in primary care."

Cost-effectiveness of a universal strategy of brief dietary intervention for primary prevention in primary care: population-based cohort study and Markov model
MC Gulliford, N Bhattarai, J Charlton, C Rudisill
Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation, 2014, 12:4

Read more here.

Briefing on NHS health checks for local authorities

"Local authorities are now responsible for commissioning health checks. This briefing provides information about the programme."

Briefing on NHS health checks for local authorities
Primary Care Commissioning
April 2013

Read more here.

Allied Health Professionals' QIPP Toolkits

"The Strategic Health Authority Allied Health Professionals (AHP) Leads for England have worked with NHS London to compile AHP QIPP Toolkits, designed to help commissioners design services that are of high quality whilst reducing cost."

Access the toolkits below:

• AHP Stroke Toolkit
• AHP Oral Nutritional Support Toolkit
• AHP Musculoskeletal Care Toolkit
• AHP Cancer Toolkit
• AHP Diabetes Toolkit