Eliminating guidewire retention during ultrasound guided central venous catheter insertion

"A multi-modal structured training program, integrated with a modified, pre-packed CVC set, and drapes with reminder stickers (all included in CVC PLUS) were cost effective, and improved patient safety by eliminating guidewire retention during CVC insertion."

Eliminating guidewire retention during ultrasound guided central venous catheter insertion via an educational program, a modified CVC set, and a drape with reminder stickers
WM Peh, WJ Loh, GC Phua, CM Loo
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2016;5: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u209550.w3941

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Improving Pre-emptive Prescribing to Relieve Patient Discomfort Occurring Out of Hours

"Junior doctors are commonly asked to prescribe simple medications for symptom relief for patients out of hours. Unfortunately, time constraints and other pressures may lead to delays before the medications are prescribed. A quality improvement project was conducted at a large university teaching hospital to establish the extent of the problem, with the aim of finding measures to improve preemptive prescribing for patients."

Improving Pre-emptive Prescribing to Relieve Patient Discomfort Occurring Out of Hours
R Williams, F Herbert, A Orme, G Casswell

BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2016;5: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u206301.w3757

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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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Winter pressures: what's going on behind the scenes?

"NHS staff are working in a heavily resource-constrained environment and facing increasing demand for care. In this report we examined 15 key indicators of performance of the NHS in England over the most pressured time of year – winter (November to March) – focusing on 2014-2015, as well as looking back over the last five years."

Winter pressures: what's going on behind the scenes? (Quality Watch)
E Fisher, H Dorning
The Health Foundation, Nuffield Trust
February 2016

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Realising the value of people and communities

"We intend the report to be a practical resource to support the work of commissioners, providers, communities and others seeking to find ways to empower individuals and communities in their health and care. In addition, we hope that it will help commissioners, policymakers and practitioners to understand the range of approaches available, some of the key components and their potential to improve health and wellbeing outcomes, NHS sustainability and social value."

At the heart of health: Realising the value of people and communities
S Wood, A Finnis, H Khan, J Ejbye
Nesta, The Health Foundation
February 2016

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What the Commonwealth Fund’s 2015 international survey of general practitioners means for the UK

"The survey findings show that there are certain aspects of care where the UK performs strongly. Indeed, in some cases (such as the use of electronic medical records) the UK is an international leader. However, the survey also highlights a number of areas of concern, in particular that UK GPs find their job more stressful than any of their international counterparts."

Under pressure: What the Commonwealth Fund’s 2015 international survey of general practitioners means for the UK
S Martin, E Davies, B Gershlick
The Health Foundation
February 2016

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Higher Quality Dementia Care

"In a programme of 3 linked studies, we investigated the impact of the QOF [quality and outcomes] dementia review on the quality of care received by those with dementia, focusing particularly on the interface between primary and secondary care."

Higher Quality Dementia Care: Policy & Research Briefing
P Kasteridis, A Mason, M Goddard, R Jacobs, R Santos
Centre for Health Economics
February 2016

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Demand management for planned care

"This report presents a substantial review of the effectiveness of main strategies designed to alleviate demand pressures in the area of planned care. The study commences with an overview of the key ideas about the genesis of demand and capacity problems for health services."

Demand management for planned care: a realist synthesis
R Pawson, J Greenhalgh, C Brennan
Health Services and Delivery Research 2016;4(2)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3310/hsdr04020

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What the planning guidance means for the NHS 2016/17 and beyond

"Leaders will need to work collaboratively in place-based systems of care, recognising that success in the current context depends on collective action that makes best use of a common pool of limited resources. It will be critical that organisations engage staff at all levels in achieving sustainability and delivering transformation, and focus on improving value for patients rather than crude cost-cutting."

What the planning guidance means for the NHS 2016/17 and beyond
H McKenna, P Dunn
February 2016
The King's Fund

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Managing the supply of NHS clinical staff in England

"Ensuring there are enough clinical staff with the right skills to meet the demand for high-quality, safe healthcare is essential to the operation of the NHS. There are risks to both the quality and cost of services if the supply of clinical staff is poorly managed." 

Managing the supply of NHS clinical staff in England
Department of Health, National Audit Office
February 2016

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The future of child health services: new models of care

"Different services and models of care for children and young people have been emerging around the UK, both within the Vanguard scheme and inspired by it. These models are emerging in response to a series of problems in current services for children and young people. This briefing describes the current state of child health and quality of care in the UK and how the emerging models are responding to these issues."

The future of child health services: new models of care
L Kossarova, D Devakumar, N Edwards
Nuffield Trust
February 2016

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Standardizing Patient Outcomes Measurement

"If we’re to unlock the potential of value-based health care for driving improvement, outcomes measurement must accelerate. That means committing to measuring a minimum sufficient set of outcomes for every major medical condition — with well-defined methods for their collection and risk adjustment — and then standardizing those sets nationally and globally."

Standardizing Patient Outcomes Measurement
ME Porter, S Larsson, TH Lee
New England Journal of Medicine 2016; 374:504-506 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1511701

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Improving acute psychiatric care for adults in England

"The Commission’s starting point is that patients with mental health problems should have the same rapid access to high quality care as patients with physical health problems. It proposes the introduction of firm targets for improvement combined with new approaches to quality, data management, innovation and investment."

Old problems, New solutions: Improving acute psychiatric care for adults in England
The Independent Commission on Acute Adult Psychiatric Care
February 2016

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Delays and interruptions in the acute medical unit clerking process

"Interruptions and delays regularly occurred during the admission process in the study hospital which impacts adversely on patient experience and compliance with the recommended 4-h timeframe, further work is required to assess the impact on patient safety. Data obtained from this observational study were used to guide operational changes to improve the process."


Delays and interruptions in the acute medical unit clerking process: an observational study
AJ Basey, TD Kennedy, AJ Mackridge, J Krska
JRSM Open February 2016 vol. 7 no. 2 2054270415619323

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Characteristics of morbidity and mortality conferences associated with the implementation of patient safety improvement initiatives

"This study suggests that the implementation of improvement initiatives relates to MCC [Morbidity and mortality conferences] characteristics. Recommendations for developing more effective patient safety-oriented MMCs can be proposed."

Characteristics of morbidity and mortality conferences associated with the implementation of patient safety improvement initiatives, an observational study
P François, F Prate, G Vidal-Trecan, JF Quaranta, J Labarere, E Sellier
BMC Health Services Research, 2016, 16:35 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-016-1279-8

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Patient representatives’ views on patient information in clinical cancer trials

"The emotional and cognitive responses to written patient information reported by patient representatives provides a basis for revised formats in future trials and add to the body of information that support use of plain language, structured text and illustrations to improve the informed consent process and thereby patient enrolment into clinical trials."

Patient representatives’ views on patient information in clinical cancer trials
P Dellson, M Nilbert, C Carlsson
BMC Health Services Research, 2016, 16:36 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-016-1272-2

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Improving the user experience of patient versions of clinical guidelines

"It is important for guideline producers to maximise the user experience of the public when they access patient versions of guidelines, particularly given the current low level of access and awareness. One size does not fit all and guideline producers need to strike a balance between keeping the patient version simple and providing sufficient information to facilitate shared decision making and empower the public. Guideline producers may find the results of this study useful in designing their own patient versions."


Improving the user experience of patient versions of clinical guidelines: user testing of a Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) patient version
N Fearns, K Graham, G Johnston, D Service
BMC Health Services Research, 2016, 16:37 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-016-1287-8


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