On 16th February the Unit co-hosted with the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh a seminar on the lessons to be learned from the distinctive and widely-acclaimed approach to healthcare quality in Scotland over the last 30 years.
The seminar was designed to share with policy-makers and NHS and College representatives the findings of recent research undertaken by Professor Lorna McKee and Dr David Steel (Aberdeen), Dr Aoife McDermott (Cardiff) and colleagues comparing policy and practice on quality and safety in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, and to discuss the relevance and sustainability of their analysis of the factors that have contributed to this approach in the current healthcare environment.
Feedback indicated that the participants - about 30 people from the Scottish Government, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, NHS Education for Scotland, territorial Boards and the medical and nursing Colleges - had welcomed the opportunity to hear about recent research and to discuss with colleagues its implications for future NHS priorities.