The Unit held a half-day seminar for key stakeholders in Edinburgh on 31 May: 'Making Improvement Stick: Processes, People and Politics'.
The focus of the seminar, organised in conjunction with the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, was on sustaining and spreading improvement in healthcare, drawing upon recent research conducted in four hospitals in Scotland and Ireland by a team including Lorna McKee and David Steel (HSRU) and Aoife McDermott (Cardiff Business School).
Presentations were given by Professor Justin Waring (Nottingham University Business School) ‘The Science and Art of Improving healthcare: the importance of leaders’ political astuteness’ and Dr McDermott ‘Enhancing Quality and Safety in Hospitals: Dimensions of starting, sustaining and spreading improvement’.
The seminar was attended by 30 people from the Scottish Government, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, NHS Education for Scotland, territorial NHS Boards, the medical Colleges in Scotland and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, and a number of universities.
Feedback indicated that participants felt that this kind of event helps to bridge the gap between the worlds of policy and practice and of research, and that they welcomed its focus on one of the difficult challenges they currently face.