NHS QIS Strategy for Primary and Community Health
Care Services
Jan WarnerDirector of Patient Safety & Performance Assessment
• established January 2003 by the Scottish Parliament
• merger of six quality improvement organisations
• special health board - independent in its advice, assessments and recommendations
NHS QIS
• gathering, appraising and providing evidence• translating evidence into practice • setting standards• reviewing performance• providing guidance on effective clinical practice• co-ordinating and promoting patient safety
(Institute of Medicine – 6 domains of quality)
‘Making it easier to do the right thing’ by
Why?
NHS QIS (and its predecessor organisations) has focused mainly on secondary care
BUT• 90% of care is provided in community and primary
healthcare services• 27.4 million patient contacts with members of
medical practices in Scotland (2005)• Delivering for Health, and the drive to shift the
balance of care from hospital settings into the community
Shifting the Focus: NHS QIS Community and Primary Health Care Services Strategy
How?
• Appoint Primary Care Advisor (Dr Malcolm Kerr)
• Commissioned work to map existing pchc quality initiatives across NHS Scotland
• Meetings held with representatives from NHS Boards, Special Health Boards, SEHD, Scottish Consumer Council to test validity of themes emerging from discussions
Shifting the Focus: NHS QIS Community and Primary Health Care Services Strategy
Consultation
• Draft strategy and work programme widely circulated for consultation (over 500)
• Meetings held with a number of Boards and Community Health Partnerships
• Excellent response with strong support for the principles of the strategy (over 80)
But….
Shifting the Focus: NHS QIS Community and Primary Health Care Services Strategy
Overarching Principles (1)
• Person-centred, working in partnership with patients, public and carers
• Aligned with the strategic direction and policy thrust of Delivering for Health
• Reflect NHS Board accountability
Shifting the Focus: NHS QIS Community and Primary Health Care Services Strategy
Overarching Principles (2)
• Work collaboratively with all organisations involved in health and social care
• Build on existing models, networks, expertise and intelligence
• Proportionate, risk based and take account of best available evidence
Shifting the Focus: NHS QIS Community and Primary Health Care Services Strategy
Aims of the strategy (1)
• Improve the quality of primary care by being a trusted and credible source of knowledge
• Improve patient safety by using available data to address variations in practice and learning from past experiences
• Promote the best possible clinical care through the development and dissemination of clinical guidelines, standards and best practice statements
Shifting the Focus: NHS QIS Community and Primary Health Care Services Strategy
Aims of the strategy (2)
• Support and encourage staff in improving services through networks, practice development and the translation of evidence into practice
• Support NHS Boards in the review and monitoring of performance to determine how well NHS services are performing against the standards set
* The ‘unit of measurement‘ will be at NHS Board or CHP level, not individual practitioners
Shifting the Focus: NHS QIS Community and Primary Health Care Services Strategy
Strategic Objective 1
Improved quality of care and patient safety in community and primary healthcare services
Rationale
About one in ten people using the NHS will experience an adverse incident, of which at least 50% are potentially avoidable. As over 90% of care is provided out with hospitals, improving patient safety is critical.
Shifting the Focus: NHS QIS Community and Primary Health Care Services Strategy
Examples of current projects
Pilot project on Implementing the NPSA Seven Steps to Patient Safety in General Practice
A web-based tool for comparative analysis of medical practice data to identify variation in practice, based on commonly used clinical indicators
Shifting the Focus: NHS QIS Community and Primary Health Care Services Strategy
Strategic Objective 2
The implementation of clinical guidelines, standards and best practice statements – translating evidence into practice to continually improve clinical care
Rationale
Guidelines, standards, indicators and best practice statements provide a framework for continuous improvement in the overall quality of care people receive
Shifting the Focus: NHS QIS Community and Primary Health Care Services Strategy
Examples of current projects
Key Performance Indicators for unscheduled care, covering NHS24, Out of Hours centres, the Scottish Ambulance Service and Emergency Departments
Support roll out of the Scottish Woman Held Maternity Record (SWHMR)
Standards for the Integrated Care Pathways under development for mental health services (schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, personality disorder, dementia and depression)
Shifting the Focus: NHS QIS Community and Primary Health Care Services Strategy
Strategic Objective 3
Monitor the performance of NHSScotland. The ‘unit of measurement‘ will be at NHS Board or CHP level, not individual practitioners
RationaleThe ability to measure the quality of services is essential for successful implementation of a culture that supports clinical governance. Performance assessment enables NHS QIS to evaluate what NHSScotland is doing and how well services are performing
Shifting the Focus: NHS QIS Community and Primary Health Care Services Strategy
Examples of current projects
External quality assurance of how NHS Boards implement the GP appraisal process
Work with Scottish Executive to develop external quality assurance of NHS Boards’ arrangements for monitoring community pharmacy services
Assessment of NHS Boards’ performance against standards for emergency dental services (EDS)
Shifting the Focus: NHS QIS Community and Primary Health Care Services Strategy
What next?
• Publication of strategy & work programme Oct ‘07
• Consultation on future projects
• Workshop this afternoon – Dr Malcolm Kerr
Shifting the Focus: NHS QIS Community and Primary Health Care Services Strategy