Blog: What’s Next for NHS Procurement?

10 Jul 2024

Judith Hughes, Associate Director of Procurement (MCIPS), HQIP, shares her reflections from Procurement 4 Health 2024

Attending the Procurement 4 Health (P4H) event in Birmingham this September was a reminder of just how crucial healthcare procurement is to the overall functioning of the NHS. What really stuck with me was a staggering statistic:

25% of all NHS spending is on procurement, over £30 million annually

It’s an eye-opener, especially when you consider the immense pressure on the NHS budget. That figure highlights why effective procurement isn’t just a financial concern – it’s about ensuring that every pound spent translates into better patient outcomes. Unsurprisingly one of the hot topics on everyone’s mind at the event was the delay in the implementation of the Procurement Act. How are you feeling about the Act? Optimistic? Or perhaps a little overwhelmed at everything that needs to be done? The potential for streamlined processes and improved supplier engagement is undeniable, and I’m eager to see how it will impact the way we work. However I do know that many of us are secretly pleased that the Act is delayed, as it gives us more time to digest and implement these changes into our organisations. The day kicked off in the Keynote Arena with a welcome from the Chair Tracy Cramond, Commercial Advisor to NHS Shared Business. Tracy emphasised the need for collaboration across the NHS, something that really shouldn’t be as difficult as we make it.

This resonated deeply with me. Healthcare procurement is not a siloed activity. It requires partnerships, cross-departmental co-operation, and – frankly – a shared commitment to do what’s best for patients.

This collaboration bleeds into supplier relationships and partnership working, and it’s a key focus for HQIP and our supplier base. We work closely together to deliver the best patient outcomes throughout the lifecycle of the contracts. The sector is clearly on a journey, but it has already come a long way in terms of innovation and best practice. Zones dedicated to digital transparency, infrastructure and sustainability were buzzing with ideas, with the NHS Commercial and Procurement Pavilion a particular hive of activity. There were an array of topical presentations in the different areas, but one thing I noted that was missing from the event was any kind of focus on the patient and the linkage between procurement and patient outcomes. I took the opportunity to attended the following presentations:

How will the Procurement Act Support Better Engagement in the NHS Supply Chain? This was presented by Sarah Coldrake, Associate Director of Commercial Governance and Policy, NHS England (see, I knew the Procurement Act would get a mention…).
Social Value in Action, presented by Michelle McCann, Chief Sustainability and Innovation Officer, NHS London Procurement Partnership. A thought-provoking presentation, with good points to note and learn from. Michelle made it clear that we must act now to integrate social and environmental value into our procurement decisions. As someone who believes that procurement has a direct impact on patient care, I found her points compelling.
Provider Selection Regime: A Six Month Progress Review, presented by Lucy Probert, Senior Associate, Hill Dickinson. This was very interesting. The Provider Selection Regime (PSR) came into force in January 2024 and focuses on the procurement of healthcare services. The PSR applies to the procurement of goods or non-healthcare services and the uptake of the PSR seems to be slow.
Making Sustainability Real in Procurement, presented by Neil Hind. Neil stated that “the climate emergency is a health emergency”, supporting his presentation with strong facts and figures. As a procurement professional, this resonated with me and was a timely reminder of the sheer volume of the challenges we face.

I specifically wanted to touch base with the Health Care Supply Association (HCSA). I caught up with Alan Hoskins, who I’ve known for quite a number of years, and we had a chat about the HCSA conference, 13-14 November. HQIP are going to have a stand at this event to promote our procurement consultancy services that offer something quite unique. We combine our expertise in procurement, patient engagement and quality improvement to enable those we work with to achieve better value and outcomes. Alan also referred me to the HCSA Women’s Network, which I look forward to following up on. Whilst HQIP are not part of the NHS, we do provide pivotal healthcare insights and support through our work. I also caught up with Hannah Quinn-Hill, NHS Business Director from Michael Page, who HQIP have partnered with on a thought leadership event on 17 October. As guest speakers, we will be highlighting the importance of the patient voice in procurement. Registration for this free event is open to all NHS procurement leaders. Patient engagement in procurement is a topic that HQIP is passionate about and it has been reassuring to see patient voice referenced strongly in Lord Darzi’s recent report on the pathway to NHS reform. Our CEO, Chris Gush, shares his thoughts on this and other key themes from the report in his recent blog post. The day flew by and before I knew it, the conference was over. Having started the day looking forward to attending the event, it certainly did not disappoint. I met many great people who are as passionate as me about healthcare procurement and the changes that we can bring – through our combined expertise and insight – into the market.

Talk to us about how we can help you: workwithus@hqip.org.uk

#CAAW24 event recordings now available

8 Jul 2024

We are delighted to share that the recordings and presentations from the events hosted by HQIP during Clinical Audit Awareness Week are now available:

NHS IMPACT & HQIP quality improvement event

NHS IMPACT and Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) teamed up for this online event about all things quality improvement on Wednesday 26th June 2024. We were delighted that over 200 people attended to hear Ailsa Brotherton, Improvement Director for NHS IMPACT, share more about the role her team plays in supporting quality improvement, alongside HQIP’s Associate Director, Clare Fountain, who hosted a Q&A session with Professor Brotherton. Attendees also had the opportunity to hear from two case studies of quality improvement in action:

Samatha Dottin from Diabetes UK, along with Caroline Jowett and Diane Robinson from NHS England North East and Yorkshire Region, who shared details of their collaborative project which aims to influence change and achieve improvement
2023 Clinical Audit Awareness Week winner Amy Baker from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, who updated attendees on the on-going impact of her award-winning project, one year on.

The slides and recording for this event can be found below:

From Audit to Impact (A case study: Cancer)

This event on Thursday 27th June 2024 offered a unique opportunity to understand more about the collaborative approach to clinical audit taken by the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NATCAN). Hosted by HQIP’s Caroline Rogers, attendees were given a demonstration of the data quality report for the ‘new’ audits and heard about the future direction of the Centre, with a demonstration of its data dashboard. There was also an opportunity to ask questions, as part of a live Q&A. The slides and recording for this event can be found below:

Conversation with Stella Vig

We were delighted that Stella Vig, National Medical Director for Secondary Care and Quality at NHS England joined HQIP’s Clinical Fellow, Claudia Snudden on Friday 28th June 2024, to share her insights into the value of clinical audit and quality improvement within the NHS, and answer questions as part of a live Q&A. The recording for this event can be found here.

Lunch & Learn recordings

The recordings and presentations from the five Clinical Audit Awareness Week Lunch & Learn events, hosted by NQICAN, are also available to view via the HQIP website.

Further information

You can find out all about all the Clinical Audit Heroes Award winners here, with more information about the wider Clinical Audit Awareness Week campaign here.

#CAAW24 Lunch & Learn recordings now available

3 Jul 2024

We are delighted to share that the recordings and presentations from the five Clinical Audit Awareness Week Lunch & Learn events are now available to view via the HQIP website. Hosted by NQICAN, these events are an integral part of this campaign, featuring not only the announcements of the winners of the Clinical Audit Heroes Awards but also an array of expert speakers:

Patient Safety

Key speaker: Rachel Poole, Head of Patient Safety Implementation, NHS England
Clinical Audit Heroes Award winning presentation: Parkinson’s Disease QIP Team, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Presentation slides and event recording (YouTube).

Patient & Public Involvement (PPI)

Key speaker: Kim Rezel, Head of Patient and Public Engagement, HQIP
Clinical Audit Heroes Award winning presentations: Rebecca Goadsby, Dementia Liaison Nurse, Northampton General Hospital NHS; and Gemma Harris, People Participation Co-ordinator (PPC), Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation

Presentation slides and event recording (YouTube)

Healthcare Inequalities

Key speakers: Dr Charlotte Richardson, Clinical Fellow, Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Team, NHS England and Prof Danny Keenen, Medical Director, HQIP
Clinical Audit Heroes Award winning presentation: Roger Blake and Stephanie Baker, Learning Disability Team, East Suffolk and North Essex

Presentation slides and event recording (YouTube)

Influencing Change

Key speaker: Sam Riley, Director of Making Data Count, NHS England
Clinical Audit Heroes Award winning presentations: Diabetic Foot Infection Team, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals; Infection Prevention & Management Team, University Hospitals NHS Plymouth Trust

Presentation slides and event recording (YouTube)

Sustaining Change

Key speaker: Zoe Lord, Improvement Manager, NHS Horizons
Clinical Audit Heroes Award winning presentation: Dentistry, Barts Health NHS Trust.

Presentation slides and event recording (YouTube)

Further information

You can find out all about all the Clinical Audit Heroes Award winners here, with more information about the wider Clinical Audit Awareness Week campaign – including resources, outputs from other events, and a new video and blog – here.

Clinical Audit Awareness Week – winners, resources and more

1 Jul 2024

That’s a wrap; Clinical Audit Awareness Week 2024 (#CAAW24), featuring the Clinical Audit Heroes Awards, ran from 24-28 June and it was amazing! Thanks to everyone for getting involved to celebrate the benefits and impact of clinical audit and quality improvement work in healthcare. Here’s a round-up of everything that happened and how to find out more…

Clinical Audit Heroes Awards

A summary of the winners of all award categories can be found here. For more information on each award, use the links below:

Patient Safety: See Patient Safety award announcement
Patient & Public Involvement (PPI): See PPI award announcement
Healthcare Inequalities: See Healthcare Inequalities award announcement
Influencing Change: See Influencing Change award announcement
Sustainability: See Sustainability award announcement.

Clinical Audit Awareness Week resources

Patient safety

Signposting to resources on Patient Safety.
Patient Safety Lunch & Learn online event hosted by NQICAN which featured winner’s presentation and Rachel Poole, Patient Safety Implementation at NHS England – Recording here.

Patient & Public Involvement (PPI)

NEW video: The Mutual Benefits of Patient and Public Involvement (PPI).
Signposting to resources on Patient and Public Involvement (PPI).
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Lunch & Learn online event hosted by NQICAN which featured winners’ presentations and Kim Rezel, HQIP – Recording here.

Healthcare inequalities

NEW blog: The importance of national clinical audit in addressing health inequalities by Prof Danny Keenan, HQIP Medical Director.
Signposting to resources on Healthcare Inequalities.
Healthcare Inequalities Lunch & Learn online event hosted by NQICAN which featured winner’s presentation and Charlotte Richardson, NHS England / Danny Keenan, HQIP – Recording here.

Influencing change

Signposting to resources on Influencing Change.
Influencing Change Lunch & Learn online event hosted by NQICAN which featured award announcement and Sam Riley, Director of Making Data Count at NHS England – Recording here.
NHS IMPACT & HQIP event: Ailsa Brotherton, NHS IMPACT, and Clare Fountain, HQIP, discussed quality improvement (with case study presentations) – Recording to be shared soon here.
Online conversation with Stella Vig, National Medical Director for Secondary Care and Quality, NHS England and Claudia Snudden, HQIP – Recording to be shared soon here.

Sustainability

Signposting to resources on Sustaining Change.
Sustaining Change Lunch & Learn online event hosted by NQICAN which featured Zoe Lord, NHS Horizons – Recording here.
From Audit to Impact (A case study: National Cancer Centre): The NATCAN team discussed their collaborative approach to clinical audit with Caroline Rogers from HQIP – Recording to be shared soon here.

Job opportunity

28 Jun 2024

Marketing lead (12-month contract)

Closing date for applications: 7 Jul 2024 Location: Remote home working with occasional travel (expenses covered) Salary: £43-50k per annum, pro rata for part-time hours Details: 18-25 hours per week (flexible hours available)

Are you an experienced communications and/or marketing professional with a desire to craft impactful marketing strategies and materials? Do you have NHS experience and/or a good understanding of the health sector? We are seeking someone who has:

Significant senior experience in marketing roles, with a proven track record of successful campaigns and strategies
An understanding of the NHS and the UK healthcare sector
Skills in drafting and implementing a marketing strategy
Skills in the production of high-quality marketing / communications materials (ideally graphic design skills to enable production in-house).

Further information Find out more, including a job description and details of how to apply: www.hqip.org.uk/work-for-us/marketing-lead-12-month-contract. CVs sent without a completed application form will not be accepted.

Sustainability Hero award announced

28 Jun 2024

The winners of the Clinical Audit Awareness Week 2024 Sustainability Hero award have been announced today; congratulations to: WINNER: Zahra Shehabi, Dentistry, Barts Health NHS Trust The award recognises a project that aims to meet the NHS target of net zero by 2040/5 and sustainability awareness in dentistry, which is typically resource intensive. The judges felt that this was a truly descriptive, extensive project with multiple outputs that were extremely well summarised. There was a sound evidence base and clear methodology, setting out the journey from collecting data to making improvements. The team (pictured below) had this to say on their award win: “Everyone in the team was delighted to have won this award. The most rewarding thing about the sustainability quality improvement project has been working with different people from different specialities and levels of experience, and empowering others to get involved and make change happen. This collective effort was driven by our passion to ensure we provide dentistry without harm and reduce our contribution to the climate crisis!”

COMMENDED: Adam Jones and Hiba Al-Diwani, University of Leeds / Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust Recognised for their project which aims to reduce the climate impact of conscious sedation services provided by the Leeds Dental Institute. The judges commended this “excellent” project for identifying a need and then designing a clear project to address that need COMMENDED: Simon Tso and the Dermatology team, South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust The group was recognised for a project that is designed to support the meeting of British Society for Dermatological Surgery (BSDS) guidance on environmentally sustainable skin surgery. The judges were impressed with the fact that it looked at ‘sustainability’ from multiple angles, as well as the fact that they had a clear project design and focus to their work. Further information about the awards: Clinical Audit Heroes awards.

The Clinical Audit Heroes Awards (part of Clinical Audit Awareness Week)

The Sustainability Hero award is one of five categories in this year’s Clinical Audit Heroes Awards. The winners of each award are announced at a series of daily Lunch & Learn events, hosted by N-QI-CAN, on each of the award topics from 24-28 June 2024. Details of these events (and recordings for those who wish to listen again, once they have taken place) – in addition to news of all the winners and a range of events and activities – can be found on the Clinical Audit Awareness Week webpage. And don’t forget to join in the fun by sharing online, using #CAAW24!

#CAAW24: Sustainable Change resources published

28 Jun 2024

As part of Clinical Audit Awareness Week 2024, which is designed to share the value of clinical audit and quality improvement in enhancing patient outcomes, we are pleased to share a range of valuable resources from HQIP, the clinical audit community, and the broader healthcare sector, focusing on Sustainable Change in Healthcare:

Embedding sustainability into healthcare quality improvement is an approach to improve health outcomes whilst minimising the environmental, social and financial impacts. Sustainable quality improvement highlights potential waste in resources and any health and social inequalities. NHS trusts are assessed by the Care Quality Commission on their environmental sustainability. Tools are available on the Institute for Healthcare Improvement website that can assist healthcare organisations to highlight areas of opportunity in lowering their carbon emissions from care delivery.

In addition, the following resources from HQIP are also useful:

Article: In IN FOR THE LONG HAUL, Vicky Patel, Chair of National Quality Improvement incl. Clinical Audit Network (N-QI-CAN), explores how to take an effective and sustainable approach to clinical audit – Cornerstone2024.pdf (article on pages 28-31).
Case study on a 2022 Clinical Audit Awareness Week winning project from the Sustainable Respiratory Care Audit Team at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on their project designed to reduce the environmental impacts of healthcare – Sustainable Respiratory Care Audit 2022 case study.

Note that this list is intended to signpost to relevant useful resources but, for those published outside of HQIP, we are unable to take responsibility for them – please contact the provider direct if you have any questions.

Influencing Change Hero award announced

27 Jun 2024

The winners of the Clinical Audit Awareness Week 2024 Influencing Change Hero award have been announced today; congratulations to: JOINT WINNER: Diabetic Foot Infection Team, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals The team was recognised for their project which aims to improve outcomes for diabetic foot infection patients treated with outpatient parenteral antibiotics. The judges found that it was well structured, with multiple data measures, and improvement clearly demonstrated. Of particular note, were the interventions that had quality improvement ‘built-into’ them, as well as the extensive background research undertaken to identify best-practice. Case study here. JOINT WINNER: Infection Prevention & Management Team, University Hospitals NHS Plymouth Trust Recognised for their project which aims to improve urinary catheter care and management. The judges felt this was a clearly structured clinical audit with real changes in practice including an electronic form and guidance at the point of care. Clear improvement was evidenced, with reduced catheter use and reduced avoidable infections. Further information about the awards: Clinical Audit Heroes awards.

The Clinical Audit Heroes Awards (part of Clinical Audit Awareness Week)

The Influencing Change Hero award is one of five categories in this year’s Clinical Audit Heroes Awards. The winners of each award are announced at a series of daily Lunch & Learn events, hosted by N-QI-CAN, on each of the award topics from 24-28 June 2024. Details of these events (and recordings for those who wish to listen again, once they have taken place) – in addition to news of all the winners and a range of other events and activities – can be found on the Clinical Audit Awareness Week webpage. And don’t forget to join in the fun by sharing online, using #CAAW24!

#CAAW24: Influencing Change resources published

27 Jun 2024

As part of Clinical Audit Awareness Week 2024, which aims to highlight the value of clinical audit and quality improvement in enhancing patient outcomes, we are excited to share a range of valuable resources from HQIP, the clinical audit community, and the broader healthcare sector, focusing on Influencing Change and Improvement in Healthcare:

Clinical audit helps identify areas for improvement in patient care and outcomes by comparing current clinical practice to evidenced based standards. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) are experts in evidence-based best practice who consider both clinical effectiveness and value for money when evaluating new health technologies and producing guidance for healthcare practitioners to deliver the best care.
All NCAPOP projects aim to have a positive impact on patient care and the national, system, local and public key impacts are reported on each year. The 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019 compendium of NCAPOP impact reports can all be found here.
To aid local quality improvement (QI), HQIP have reshaped NCAPOP outputs to include tools to support this at a trust level. A QI guide has also been created to signpost healthcare services to a broad range of QI tools and advice on how to implement them. Further to this, is an information governance in local quality improvement guide.
Another NHS England programme designed to improve patient care is Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT). By undertaking an in-depth review of specialities along with a broad data gathering and analysis exercise, they are able to highlight both underperformance and excellence of individual trusts. The GIRFT team then supports trusts through an implementation phase of report recommendations that tackle unwarranted variation and lead to improved productivity, efficiency, and capacity.

In addition, the following resources from HQIP are also useful:

Article: In Avoiding ‘lost in translation’, Jill Stoddart, Director of Operations (National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcome Programme) at HQIP, discusses how you can use national healthcare data to support meaningful change – Cornerstone2024.pdf (article on pages 14-18).
Case study on a 2023 Clinical Audit Awareness Week winning project from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on using data from the National Clinical Audit Benchmarking (NCAB) site to provide a single place to access and evaluate national audit and registry data 24/7 – Influencing Change CUH 2023 case study.
Case study on a 2023 Clinical Audit Awareness Week winning project from Cambridgeshire Community Services on their Peer-to-Peer clinical record keeping auditing programme – Influencing Change CCS 2023 case study.

Healthcare Inequalities Hero award announced

26 Jun 2024

The winners of the Clinical Audit Awareness Week 2024 Healthcare Inequalities Hero award have been announced today; congratulations to: WINNER: Roger Blake and Stephanie Baker, Learning Disability Team, East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust Awarded for their project which aims to raise awareness of constipation in people with learning disabilities and supports communication around this important issue, which can lead to hospitalisation and even death. The judges were impressed with the co-production approach taken by the team as well as the improvements demonstrated. The team had this to say on their award win: “We are delighted to receive a Clinical Audit Heroes Award and for the recognition given to this important subject. We will continue with our audit/ quality improvement journey until we can be re- assured that patients with a learning disability who come into contact with ESNEFT have medical input for constipation”

COMMENDED: Lorna Dawson and the Health Literacy Team, South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust Recognised for their project which improves the accessibility of health information and helps to overcome inequalities caused by health literacy, which can create a barrier to people engaging in their care. The judges were impressed with this project’s approach to collaboration and inclusivity, as well as its innovation. COMMENDED: Health For Homeless Team, Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust The team was recognised for their project which aims to improve outcomes for those experiencing homelessness by implementing a countywide Multi Agency Pop Up (MAPU) mobile outreach programme. The judges were impressed with the holistic approach taken, supporting both the mental and physical health of patients. Further information about the awards: Clinical Audit Heroes awards.

Clinical Audit Awareness Week

The Healthcare Inequalities Hero award is one of five categories in this year’s Clinical Audit Heroes Awards. The winners of each award are announced at a series of daily Lunch & Learn events, hosted by N-QI-CAN, on each of the award topics from 24-28 June 2024. Details of these events (and recordings for those who wish to listen again, once they have taken place) – in addition to news of all the winners and a range of other events and activities – can be found on the Clinical Audit Awareness Week webpage. And don’t forget to join in the fun by sharing online, using #CAAW24!

#CAAW24: Healthcare Inequalities resources published

26 Jun 2024

As part of Clinical Audit Awareness Week 2024, which aims to highlight the value of clinical audit and quality improvement in enhancing patient outcomes, we are pleased to share a range of useful resources from HQIP, the clinical audit community, and the broader healthcare sector focusing on Healthcare Inequalities: Health inequalities are known to cause unjust and preventable differences in health outcomes so it is essential that health services address the needs of these underserved communities. Accurate and reliable data is required in order to identify barriers in current practice so it is essential that ethnicity and deprivation are included in National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP) specifications. For more information on this, please see Improving Health Inequality Data in the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme and the accompanying infographic. The following NCAPOP programmes have reported on healthcare inequalities:

National Lung Cancer Audit – State of the Nation report – There was a gradient in the proportion of patients with lung cancer who came from the most deprived to the least deprived areas (1=Most: 25.8%, 3=19.9%, 5=Least: 15.1%).
National Paediatric Diabetes Audit – Report on Care and Outcomes – Despite improvements in outcomes and use of technologies across different ethnicities and areas of deprivation, inequalities remain evident. In terms of rtCGM use, the inequality gap by deprivation has reduced however the difference in use between Black and White children with Type 1 diabetes has widened from 8.6% in 2021/22 to 14% in 2022/23.
Fracture Liaison Service Database – Annual Report – Indices of multiple deprivation (IMD) bring together 37 separate indicators that each reflect a different aspect of deprivation experienced by individuals living in an area. IMD is used to identify those living in the most and least deprived areas. The most deprived IMD, in line with Core20PLUS5, were less likely to have a timely bone health assessment (57% vs 66%) or DXA (25% vs 33%), lower falls assessment (52% vs 60%), recommended bone therapy (48% vs 57%) and follow up at 16 weeks (38% vs 46%).
Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK – A comparison of the care of Black and White women who have experienced a stillbirth or neonatal death – Major or significant issues were found with antenatal care provision for 83% of black women compared with 69% of white women. 33% of black women and 54% of white women had major or significant care issues during postnatal and bereavement care. 67% of black mothers and babies and 46% of white mothers and babies had major or significant issues identified with respect to pathology. 75% of black parents and 66% of white parents had major or significant issues identified at follow-up or during review of their care and that of their babies.

For Clinical Audit Awareness Week 2024, HQIP is releasing a new blog on health inequalities. In Yes We Can, Professor Danny Keenan, Medical Director at HQIP, explores the importance of national clinical audit in addressing health inequalities: www.hqip.org.uk/blog. In addition, the following resources from HQIP are also useful:

Article: In Mind the (health) gap, Dr Josie O’Heney, 2021/22 National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellow at HQIP, discusses the role of data and quality improvement (QI) in addressing health inequalities – Cornerstone2023.pdf (article on pages 14&15).
Case study on a 2023 Clinical Audit Awareness Week commended project from Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust on an audit of homeless patients – a population which has high rates of substance and alcohol dependence, hepatitis C and multiple morbidity, compared to the general population – Health Inequalities SWB 2023 case study.
Report: In Spotlight on the Early Years from HQIP, we aim to identify cross-cutting lessons relating to early years healthcare with a focus on health inequalities and variation in care – Spotlight on the Early Years – HQIP.

Patient and Public Involvement Hero award announced

25 Jun 2024

The winners of the Clinical Audit Awareness Week 2024 Patient and Public Involvement Hero award have been announced today; congratulations to: JOINT WINNER: Rebecca Goadsby, Dementia Liaison Nurse, Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust Awarded for patient engagement activities which the judges called a “top priority” project that demonstrated genuine impact, with carers involved continuously, including providing input into reports, focus groups and webinars. JOINT WINNER: Gemma Harris, People Participation Co-ordinator (PPC), Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation Trust Recognised for work to increase lived experience in quality improvement projects, emphasising co-production and improving access to – and building – improvement skills. The judges felt that this project demonstrated a variety of engagement methods and, in particular, applauded an objective to train patients and carers to become more involved. COMMENDED: Patient and Carer Advisory Group, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust The group was recognised for their patient/carer-driven project to help patients manage their cancer diagnosis and treatment and improve their quality of life. The judges felt that this was a real-world project based on real-world need. With a large number of people surveyed, they were impressed with the findings, which were translated into accessible outcomes such as information screens to signpost to key information. COMMENDED: Jessica Moss, Quality Improvement Lead, National Audit of Care at the End of Life (NACEL) Recognised for a project which directly sought the views and experiences of bereaved people in the design of an audit tool. The judges were impressed, not only with the support available to patients and carers, but also the on-going process of feedback. There was involvement from the very beginning, and this was clear from the impact demonstrated. COMMENDED: Sandra Willis, Clinical Specialist Paediatric Occupational Therapist, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Recognised for patient engagement in the development of a website to provide universal support and advice for parents, carers, children and young people, and professionals. The judges applauded the many different methods of engagement utilised, stating that it is an innovative project that is hugely beneficial to a large number of people. Further information about the awards: Clinical Audit Heroes awards.

The Clinical Audit Heroes Awards (part of Clinical Audit Awareness Week)

The Patient and Public Involvement Hero award is one of five categories in this year’s Clinical Audit Heroes Awards. The winners of each award are announced at a series of daily Lunch & Learn events, hosted by N-QI-CAN, on each of the award topics from 24-28 June 2024. Details of these events (and recordings for those who wish to listen again, once they have taken place) – in addition to news of all the winners and range of other events and activities – can be found on the Clinical Audit Awareness Week webpage. And don’t forget to join in the fun by sharing online, using #CAAW24!

#CAAW24: Patient and Public Involvement resources published

25 Jun 2024

Involving patients and carers is at the heart of everything we do at HQIP. This includes commissioning, resource development and governance structures. There are many ways to involve patients in clinical audit and we have a range of case studies which demonstrate the effectiveness of this.
Prior to the finalisation of topic specification, patient and carer feedback is collated from a range of engagement activities such as focus groups, questionnaires and representation at specification development meetings. The National Maternity and Perinatal Audit, Sentinel Stroke National Audit and the National Vascular Registry are just a few examples of this.
Once the specification is finalised, the topic is put out to tender and 10% of the final score relates specifically to patient and public involvement (PPI).
A key area where patients and carers can contribute feedback is in the resources produced by each project. Infographics are regularly published alongside audit reports to highlight key findings and recommendations in lay terms. Some examples of this include the National Diabetes Audit – National Diabetes Footcare Audit, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit and the Medical and Surgical Clinical Outcome Review Programme- Prison Healthcare.
If you have lived experience as a patient or carer and would like to be involved in an advisory capacity to help improve the quality of healthcare services, please join the HQIP Service User Network (SUN).
Article: In CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT!, Kim Rezel, Head of Patient and Carer Engagement at HQIP, discusses how can we involve patients to improve healthcare – Cornerstone2023.pdf (article on pages 18-21).
Article: In Patient and Public Engagement in Practice, we hear from two award-winning projects about how engaging patients and carers is a win-win for healthcare providers and patients alike – Cornerstone2024.pdf (article on pages 4-8).

Patient Safety Hero 2024 award announced

24 Jun 2024

The winners of the Clinical Audit Awareness Week 2024 Patient Safety Hero award have been announced today; congratulations to: WINNER: Parkinson’s Disease QIP Team, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Awarded for their project, which takes a multi-disciplinary approach to support the delivery of a “gold-standard” of care for people with Parkinson’s Disease. They demonstrated both innovation and impact far beyond the boundaries of their organisation. With a focus on patient experience alongside effectiveness and safety, this project was praised for its multi-disciplinary approach and patient engagement (using visual display to communicate key messages). COMMENDED: Department of Gastroenterology, Sandwell West Birmingham NHS Trust The team was recognised for their project which aims to improve inpatient Parenteral Nutrition (PN) which carries a relatively high risk of line infection. The judges were impressed with the shared learning and evidence-informed approach taken, utilising data to build a case for dedicated resource for sustainability going forward. Further information about the awards: Clinical Audit Heroes awards.

Clinical Audit Awareness Week

The Patient Safety Hero award is one of five categories in this year’s Clinical Audit Heroes Awards. The winners of each award are announced at a series of daily Lunch & Learn events, hosted by N-QI-CAN, on each of the award topics from 24-28 June 2024. Details of these events (and recordings for those who wish to listen again, once they have taken place) – in addition to news of all the winners and a range of other events and activities – can be found on the Clinical Audit Awareness Week webpage. And don’t forget to join in the fun by sharing online, using #CAAW24!

#CAAW24: Patient Safety resources published

24 Jun 2024

As part of Clinical Audit Awareness Week 2024, designed to highlight the value of clinical audit and quality improvement in enhancing patient outcomes, we are pleased to share a range of valuable resources from HQIP, the clinical audit community, and the broader healthcare sector, focusing on Patient safety:

The Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) is a new approach to responding to patient safety incidents and a major step towards establishing a safety management system across the NHS. This is mandatory for services provided under the NHS Standard Contract including acute, ambulance, mental health, and community healthcare providers. To help organisations prepare transition to PSIRF, a preparation guide has been developed.
Case studies show the direct action taken in response to patient safety events recorded by organisations, staff and the public, and how their actions support the NHS to protect patients from harm. One example, from NHS England, of direct action is how the retained surgical instrumentation and complex procedures involving multiple teams and equipment lead to the development of NatSSIPs2.
National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (NatSSIPS) are intended to enable safe, reliable and efficient care to every patient having an invasive procedure. A NatSSIPS summary and infographic have also been developed to distribute within trusts. NatSSIPs now recommends that Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) or Local Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (LocSSIPs) be developed locally, based on NatSSIPs 2. Checklists are the recommended tool to support teams in following the NatSSIPs and LocSSIPs, and to support team behaviours. However, checklists alone are not a solution in themselves and are dependent on the system and culture in which they are used.
Article: In Safety in Numbers, Tina Strack, Associate Director for Quality and Development (NCAPOP) at HQIP, explores the importance of taking a holistic, evidence-based approach to patient safety – Cornerstone2023.pdf (article on pages 7-9).
Webinar: Patients and PSIRF: Changing culture (rcp.ac.uk) – in the webinar, experts from the Royal College of Physicians discuss how the patient safety incident response framework (PSIRF) is changing the culture amongst healthcare workers and what this means for individuals.
Guidance to support root-cause analysis (used in local patient safety investigation) can be found in A guide to quality improvement tools.