Workshops

Quality & Productivity Challenge in Wound Care

Quality Agenda

Patient safety, effectiveness, and patient experience have been identified as quality domains in the NHS Five Year Forward View (FYFV). Tissue viability and associated services have an opportunity to use these to raise awareness of the care they provide.

In addition, by using metrics, these services will be able to quantify the effectiveness of care provision and use this to argue for future resources and funding. The Quality Workshops set up by Real Healthcare Solutions explore the national quality agenda in light of the FYFV and the metrics relating to quality in wound care.

All those working for or on behalf of the NHS are required to quantify the quality of the service they provide, as part of the DH quality agenda. In addition, nationally comparable information on the quality accounts will need to be published each year. 

The challenge for healthcare professionals is to ensure that daily practice is aligned to the quality agenda and true measurements of this care are recorded. The extent of this challenge cannot be underestimated, especially as it may require a change of mind-set. In addition, the metrics that need to be measured have to be completed alongside the challenges of a busy work schedule and within current financial constraints.

Measurements of quality in wound care should be aligned to the national ideals of quality that focus on patient safety, effectiveness, and patient experience. National tools used to collect and collate this information need to be identified to ensure that the quality of service can be assessed nationally.

Real Healthcare Solutions Support

Real Healthcare Solutions has set a series of Quality Workshops across the country to discuss the solutions to the challenges faced in providing the metrics of quality in a wound. To date 14 Quality Workshops have been held in England and Scotland, with further events scheduled.

The agendas and content reflected both the theoretical models set from the Department of Health and examples of where clinicians have transferred policy into practice. 

Break-out sessions, facilitated by Real Healthcare Solutions looked at what support and guidance is needed to measure quality of service in wound care.

All workshops were well evaluated and deemed to be valued by those that attended.

Real Healthcare Solutions Workshop

Feedback

Speaker feedback – Dr Caroline Dowsett, Nurse Consultant Tissue Viability, NHS Newham
“The workshops have been highly relevant and developed in line with the fast moving QIPP agenda as the year has progressed”.

Delegate feedback

“Very good and thought provoking event. Excellent coverage of the DH agenda’s link to wound care” “Excellent information to apply straight into practice”.

“Need more of the same type events to support tissue viability nationally”.