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Additional resources made available to you
We look forward to connecting with you at an International Forum. In the meantime, this page hosts resources that we make available to help you on your learning and improvement journey, while we look to reconnect with colleagues, revive momentum and build back better, stronger and fairer systems.
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Data and Decision-Making Regarding Patient Safety Incidents: A Survey of Leaders in Healthcare Organisations
At the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare in Copenhagen in May 2023, BMJ engaged with delegates who participated in the Senior Leaders Summit to explore the availability of data and information related to patient safety incidents.
We delved into the question of whether combining this data with other sets is beneficial for healthcare leaders.
Building on these insights, coupled with extensive surveys and interviews, we are excited to present our latest report, developed in collaboration with RLDatix: “Data and Decision-Making Regarding Patient Safety Incidents: A Survey of Leaders in Healthcare Organisations.”
Podcast: Civility and kindness in healthcare
Join Catherine Crock (Physician, Royal Children’s Hospital and Chair, Hush Foundation & Gathering of Kindness; Melbourne) and Chris Turner (Consultant in emergency medicine, University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire; England) in this podcast where they address how civility & kindness in healthcare can improve patient outcomes.
Catherine and Chris will be speaking at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, which is taking place in Melbourne on 30 Oct-1 Nov 2023. For more information on their sessions, and other scheduled sessions highlighting the importance of kindness in healthcare, see our programme.
Podcast release: September 2023
Podcast: Patient Safety and co-creation
Deon York (Director of Consumer Engagement at Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission New Zealand) and Ashfaq Chauhan (Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University) speak about how co-creation can reduce health inequalities.
Deon and Ashfaq will be speaking at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, which is taking place in Melbourne on 30 Oct-1 Nov 2023. For more information on these sessions, and other scheduled sessions highlighting the importance of equity in healthcare, see our programme.
Podcast release: September 2023
Podcast: Learning from adverse events
Jesper Ekberg (Strategy for Health Lead; Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR), Sweden) and Tracey Herlihey (Head of Patient Safety Incident Response Policy; NHS England) talk about precision and passion – the art of making population health actionable; and learning from patient and relative reported adverse events.
Jesper and Tracey will be speaking at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, which is taking place in Copenhagen on 15-17 May 2023. See the programme to find out more.
Podcast release: May 2023
Podcast: Patient Involvement
Joan Russell (NHS England), Douglas Findlay (Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust), Charlotte Verner Rossing (Danish College of Pharmacy Practice) and Radha Sundaram (NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde) talk about involving and working in partnership with patients in patient safety; building capacity to understand the patient, and yourself; and care at end of life in ICU – what matters to patients matters to staff!
Joan, Douglas, Charlotte and Radha will be at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare in Copenhagen on 15-17 May 2023. See the programme to find out more.
Podcast release: May 2023
The Improvement Science Symposium
Guided by the science? In a special interview, Professor Jan Mainz and Professor Pierre Barker talk to BMJ about how the concept of improvement science offers new methodologies and evaluation design.
The Improvement Science Symposium runs Tuesday and Wednesday from 11AM CEST each day. Check the programme for details and specific times.
This year’s Improvement Science Symposium stream will make waves in the healthcare industry by bringing this unfolding methodology into the main programme for discussion and example by design. It will explore new methods and evaluation processes to facilitate quality improvement in patient outcomes.
At the heart of Tuesday and Wednesday’s Symposium lies the belief that health professionals have much to learn from other industries, such as aviation and engineering.
Professor Jan Mainz and Professor Pierre Barker tell BMJ what improvement science means to them and why they believe it is critical in facilitating quality improvement for better patient outcomes. Read the interview >>
Podcast: Equity
Join Alice Forsythe (Virginia Mason Institute), Cian Wade (Harvard School of Public Health) and Mando Watson (Connecting Care for Children) in their discussion about embedding equity into leadership and practice management, reducing health inequalities through collaboration, and how action on patient safety can reduce health inequalities.
Alice, Cian and Mando will be running sessions at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare in Copenhagen on 15-17 May 2023. For more information on these sessions, and other scheduled sessions highlighting the importance of equity in healthcare, see our full programme.
Podcast release: April 2023
Podcast: Let's focus on staff wellbeing
In this 31-minute long podcast, Göran Lindahl (Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden), Cat Chatfield (Director of Health Services Research UK) and Paul Barach (Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, US) talk about the challenges that health systems around the world are facing, in terms of recruitment and retention of health professionals, and staff wellbeing. They discuss the built environment and how we can design hospitals that promote staff wellbeing and retention.
Hear more from Göran, Cat and Paul at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare in Copenhagen on 15-17 May 2023. See what sessions each will be speaking at and explore the full programme to find out more.
Podcast release: March 2023
Podcast: Sustainability
Listen to this podcast to hear Jason Leitch (National Clinical Director for Scotland) and Laura Wilson (Director for Scotland for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society) talk about the impact that our healthcare systems have on climate change, the commitments made to address these problems, and what everyone, from big corporations to frontline practitioners, can do to make our healthcare more sustainable.
Jason and Laura will be at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare in Copenhagen on 15-17 May 2023, addressing these issues in greater detail (see session D1: Sustainable healthcare system).
Podcast release: March 2023
White paper: Better collaboration through care coordination and rapid response team management
Australia’s health system is struggling under the pressures of workforce shortages and increased consumer demand from an ageing population. These pressures are compounded by a fragmented health system responsible for policy, funding and service delivery, where these are split between the federal and state/territory governments.
Australia’s health system is facing a future where it may not be able to deliver the high quality care that the community expects unless pressing matters are addressed urgently and effectively.
A white paper, developed in conjunction with Ascom, identifies a number of ways in which smart, patient-centred and integrated technology and communications systems can relieve some of the pressures on the Australian health system and support the delivery of high quality, patient-centred care. Additionally, these technologies can help to reduce the health system’s carbon footprint – an important component of long term sustainability.
The paper also draws on a recent panel discussion between health experts and leaders at the ‘Better collaboration through care coordination and rapid response team management’ session, part of the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare in Sydney, Australia on 24-26 July 2022.
Blog: Physical activity and healthy eating in young people
Listen to Carolina Klüft from Generation Pep talk about physical activity and healthy eating in young people.
Carolina Klüft is a former elite track & field athlete and today the Operations Manager at Generation Pep. Generation Pep is a non-profit organisation promoting physical activity and healthy eating behaviors among children and youth in Sweden.
Blog: Burnout
How do we support health and care staff who are burned out, exhausted and thinking of leaving their profession?
Christina Krause, CEO of the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council previews a workshop she is leading alongside Helen Bevan from NHS Horizons, at the International Forum in Gothenburn on 20-22 June 2022. The workshop title is Rest and recovery post-covid: a necessary step for quality.
Christina Krause is the Chief Executive Officer of the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council and an Adjunct Professor, School of Population & Public Health, Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. Her interests include the use of social change models and network theory in efforts to engage and mobilize stakeholders, as well as the role of culture, teamwork and communication to advance quality of care. Christina is an EXTRA Fellow with the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, a member of the Board for the OSNS Child & Youth Development Centre, and a member of the Board Quality Committee at Canuck Place Children’s Hospice.
A white paper: improving smart medication management
Following the virtual International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare Europe 2021, we hosted a roundtable discussion. The participants in this spin-off meeting discussed how smart medication management can be improved to optimize healthcare quality and efficiency.
The meeting was chaired by Yu-Chuan (Jack) Li, a researcher of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine and medical informatics, and editor-in-chief of BMJ Health and Care Informatics.
This scientific exchange was supported by an educational grant from BD.
Read the outputs of these discussions in our white paper which is available for download.
Blog: Using intelligent kindness to achieve herd immunity against workplace incivility
Nicki Macklin is a PhD scholarship student with the University of Auckland. Her doctoral research project is exploring how the use of intelligent kindness can support healthcare systems, and the people within them, to flourish. She believes that kindness can be used with a purpose to benefit patients, staff and existing service delivery models – and that it has never been more important to (re)focus on kindness than during these extraordinary times of global disruption and change.
Read Nicki Macklin’s blog and find out how kindness can achieve herd immunity against workplace incivility.
Blog release: September 2021
Room for thought: how can QI help us to reduce the impact of healthcare on the environement and the planet
Gill Smith from Kaizen Kata, Northern Ireland and Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) (Ireland) and Elaine Mead from Improvement Care and Compassion (Scotland) preview their workshop at the International Forum in Gothenburg this June.
Find out more about their session M5: Saving the planet – reducing healthcare waste to improve environmental impact.
Podcast release: March 2022
How do we work in partnership with patients, carers and service users?
Sara Riggare, Patrik Blomkvist and Elin Cederbrant are all members of the patient working group that are working to enhance patient representation across the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare.
Listen to our latest podcats asking how do we work effectively in partnership with patients, carers and service users.
Podcast release: February 2022
A conversation about equity with Jesper Ekberg
We speak to Jesper Ekberg from the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR ), and Region Jönköping County in Sweden.
As we prepare for the International Forum, which takes place in Gothenburg on 20-22 June 2022 (postponed from March 2022), Jesper Ekberg speaks to us about creating fairer systems to tackle the inequalities in health.
“My heart is really beating a lot around quality improvement and how that can come closer to the public health area”.
Jesper will be involved in three sessions at the conference:
M4: Tackling population health together in Europe – what have we learned from the Health Improvement Alliance Europe
C7: Life is for living! Population based approaches can beat involuntary loneliness
D8: Child health in Sweden – 4 projects to improve equity and give all children the best start in life
Podcast release: December 2021
Podcast: Kindness
During our busy days, it is easy to forget that simple acts of kindness can mean so much to people.
Kindness can enable us to understand perspectives, which is so important because it helps us to empathise and be compassionate. Ultimately, kindness helps us care for patients better.
Listen to this podcast to hear Bob Klaber, consultant paediatrician and director of strategy, research and innovation at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, re-cap the key discussions about kindness from this year’s International Forum Europe 2021. Bob also explains the value of kindness in delivering great care and how Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust cultivates kindness across the whole organisation.
Podcast release: July 2021
Podcast: Equity
The improvement of health and healthcare globally is dependent on improving the existing and creating new equal opportunities for people to access and receive treatments.
Equity was one of the topics we addressed at this June’s International Forum Europe 2021. We explored how we can build fairer systems to tackle inequalities in healthcare access and outcomes.
Listen to this podcast to hear Don Goldmann (Harvard Professor and Chief Scientific Officer, Emeritus at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement) and Amar Shah (Forensic Psychiatrist, Chief Quality Officer at East London Foundation NHS Trust, and National Improvement Lead for Mental Health at the Royal College of Psychiatrists) capture the key points from these discussions.
Podcast release: July 2021
Delivering Quality Improvement through technology - stories of improving patient safety during the pandemic
During the pandemic, teams across England have rapidly adopted systems that have maintained essential services and improved safety.
In this video from NHSX, you’ll hear about projects that have used technology to tackle real-world problems and transform outcomes in outpatient clinics and remote monitoring.
Video release: July 2021
Podcast: Workforce wellbeing - reflections from Europe 2021 discussions
Particularly during and after months of working through a global pandemic, it has become an urgent priority to do more to optimise not just the care for patients but also the wellbeing of staff. With burnout impacting so many aspects of care and personal lives, we discussed how we can support the wellbeing and recovery of the health and care workforce post-covid.
Listen to this podcast to hear Dr. Cat Chatfield, Research Integrity Editor at The BMJ and Dr. Daljit Hothi, Home HD Lead, Consultant Paediatric Nephrologist, Associate Medical Director at Great Ormond Street Hospital speak about the key discussions on this topic from this June’s International Forum Europe 2021.
Podcast release: June 2021
Connecting with your body as you care for others
Working as a frontline worker requires a lot of dedication of energy to care for others, which can, and often does, take a huge toll on your body. In this video, Vania Deonizio demonstrates how to use curiosity, connection, and exploration to create Healthy Body Practices which tend to your body while being an ally to the ones around you.
Vania Deonizio is a Psychotherapist, Self-Care Activist, Host of the Dear Body Love Letter Podcast, and Founder of Dancin Power. She shares why creating a culture where taking care of your body is as important as taking care of your patients, can lead a community of care to live better and healthier lives.
Video release: June 2021
Optimising the medication pathway: Meeting the WHO 2022 target of 50% fewer medication errors and clearing patient backlogs through automation
In this panel discussion from Europe 2021, hear about how automation can improve efficiency and reduce errors from the pharmacy to the patient.
Medication errors can result in a multitude of challenges for both healthcare workers and patients alike—but with modern medical technology, medication management has the opportunity for more efficiency and standardisation. To rise to the WHO demand of 50% less medication errors by 2022, learn how automation and digitalisation along the medication pathway can help clear patient backlogs, reduce length of stay and boost staff efficiency.
Video release: June 2021
'5 things I learned yesterday'... a patient's perspective from Europe 2021
Mark Brown (@markoneinfour) and his colleagues from Beyond the Room (@Mental_elf) were live-tweeting from the three days of the International Forum Europe 2021.
Mark has kindly shared with us his reflections on the themes discussed each day of the conference.
Videos release: June 2021
Co-producing virtually through a crisis: It’s possible and productive – our lessons learned
Understanding what matters to people is fundamental to co-producing improvements, yet in times of crisis we revert to command and control, saying this is too difficult.
In this video, people with lived experience will share how they have shaped improvements in partnership with clinicians during the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes at a national level coproducing the musculoskeletal restoration of services plan and how ‘Patient Partners’ in a local provider have shaped services.
Video release: May 2021
Everyone’s a Winner: Embracing Authentic Co-Production with Your Patients and their Families
If you haven’t ever tried it, this video will leave you wondering why you haven’t involved patients and families in your improvement work before.
We will share with you our experience of working together – as people with professional and lived experience of services – in true partnership. We will share the whys and the hows, the triumphs and the pitfalls and everything we have learned about creating a smooth path for an effective, enjoyable improvement work partnership, personally and professionally fulfilling for all involved. Centred in mental health, applicable to everyone.
Video release: May 2021
From Chaos comes Opportunity: COVID-19 in London’s homeless population - success and legacy
This video presents the rapid implementation and impact of the multi-agency Triage-Test-Cohort-Care plan to mitigate COVID-19 risks among London’s hostel and rough sleeper population. You’ll hear how agencies maximised the unique public health opportunity to reach almost 6,000 people in emergency accommodation, undertaking a comprehensive health and social needs assessment, outreach peer-led screening for COVID-19, blood borne viral and sexually transmitted diseases, and supporting access to opiate substitution therapies and harm-minimisation services.
Video release: May 2021
Transforming long term condition management in England post-COVID – the UCLPartners Proactive Care Frameworks
In this video, you will hear about a series of frameworks from UCLPartners that support management and self-management of long-term conditions in the new world of primary care post COVID-19. The frameworks include search tools that risk-stratify patients, pathways that map interventions and staff roles to level of risk, scripts/protocols to guide virtual management, training including health coaching to support self-management, and digital resources.
Video release: May 2021
Speaker information videos
Do you dread giving talks online?
Join Selina Stephen for some top tips on how to make the most of your virtual presentations! Selina will be joined by a range of guests who will run through their do’s and don’ts to give you the skills to present with confidence, wherever you are.
Selina Stephen is an Improvement Advisor: Healthcare Quality & Strategy for the Scottish Government.
Jason Leitch talks about presenting at a live conference
Blogs and other resources
Making the Most of the Conference with a Conference Buddy – Cristin Lind and Elin Salmiranta share how they buddy up to improve their learning experience at online conferences.
A special features article in AJHP on The high-value pharmacy enterprise framework: Advancing pharmacy practice in health systems through a consensus-based, strategic approach provided by Europe 2021 Headline Sponsor BD.
Using intelligent kindness to achieve herd immunity against workplace incivility – Nicki Macklin, a PhD candidate at the University of Auckland in New Zealand shares how kindness can achieve herd immunity against workplace incivility.