More than 100 innovative ways to improve Black Country patients’ care and experience will come under the spotlight as part of a special awards ceremony next week.
Walsall Healthcare and The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trusts are holding their second joint Quality Improvement (QI) Awards on Monday 30 September.
Teams from across the Trusts’ hospitals and community services have been working on a wide range of projects – from improving the flow in outpatients for spinal orthopaedic patients at Walsall Manor Hospital by having an extended physiotherapy service in the department, to establishing a Same Day Discharge Centre, away from the wards, for patients ready to leave New Cross Hospital which has seen up to 50 people able to go home each day.
They have produced posters capturing their QI projects, explaining the background to their ideas, the challenges faced, and the results of driving forward their suggestions. Many of the award nominations have seen multiple benefits including better patient experience, shorter hospital stays, more effective use of resources and improved job satisfaction for staff.
Simon Evans, Group Chief Strategy Officer for the Trusts, who is opening Monday’s event, said: “The QI Awards are an opportunity to showcase the creativity of our staff who know their services better than anyone.
“They have first-hand experience of some of the difficulties or frustrations that can exist and are the experts at developing ways to work differently and bring about meaningful change. To have more than 100 poster submissions covering so many areas and specialties is phenomenal, and I can’t wait to celebrate their innovation, passion and commitment to QI. Good luck to everyone on Monday – you should be so proud of yourselves!”
The awards align with the Trusts’ joint strategy of striving to embed a culture of learning and continuous improvement at all levels of the organisations, supporting, recognising and celebrating colleagues who are embracing quality improvement in all that they do.
Monday’s event will be held in Walsall and the whole week will also see a focus on QI with staff invited to get involved in a number of sessions to learn more and seek support for their ideas.