The improvement journey Why organisation-wide improvement in health care matters, and how to get started
May 2019
Key points
- Building an organisation-wide approach to improvement is a journey that can take several years. It requires corporate investment in infrastructure, staff capability and culture over the long-term.
- An essential early step is securing the support and commitment of the board for a long-term programme, including their willingness to finance the skills and infrastructure development needed to implement it.
- The report includes case studies of three English NHS trusts with an outstanding CQC rating that have implemented an organisational approach to improvement.
This report is a practical guide to developing an organisation-wide approach to improvement. It summarises the benefits of such an approach and outlines the key elements and steps that NHS trust leaders should adopt when pursuing this agenda.
The report draws on the learning and insights that the Health Foundation has generated over the past 15 years from funding and evaluating improvement at team, organisation and system level.
Developing an organisational approach to improvement in health care is a journey that can take several years. We've created a poster that shows the six key steps in the improvement journey.
Further reading
Research report
The spread challenge
This report shines a light on the challenges facing the NHS in improving the uptake of new ideas and...
Research report
Building healthier communities: the role of the NHS as an anchor institution
Our new report explores the ways in which NHS organisations act as anchor institutions, and their...
You might also like...
Learning report
Improving flow along care pathways
Based on a report by RAND Europe and interviews with programme leads during the pandemic, this...
Blog
Adopting Innovation: investing in skills at the NHS front line
Adopting innovation is a hot topic for health care providers this year. How can we seize the...
Newsletter blog
Top-down clarity, bottom-up agency: fading freedoms or here to stay?
Penny Pereira and Ruth Thorlby look at what factors have enabled new levels of ingenuity in...
Get social
Health Foundation @HealthFdn
CLOSING SOON: 1 week left to submit an abstract for this @HSR_HRET and #ICCONIC Special Issue, supported by… https://t.co/EZwK5gLCPF
Follow us on TwitterWork with us
We look for talented and passionate individuals as everyone at the Health Foundation has an important role to play.
View current vacanciesThe Q community
Q is an initiative connecting people with improvement expertise across the UK.
Find out more