Quality Management System (QMS) – Healthcare Improvement Scotland

Healthcare Improvement Scotland has developed a Quality Management System (QMS) framework. It supports the delivery of high-quality care in health and social care organisations.

What is it

A whole organisation quality management system is a coordinated and interconnected approach to: 

planning
improving 
maintaining
assuring high-quality care

It is applied across all levels of an organisation. It is aligned to strategy, underpinned by documented processes, procedures and responsibilities and embedded in organisational culture.

It provides a framework for managing quality across an organisation. To find out how to use QMS in change, connect to the Scottish Approach to Change .

Why is it important

It is an approach that builds on what many organisations are already doing to improve the delivery of care, engagement of staff and experience of those who use services.

Each component should not be considered in isolation. Planning, maintaining, improving and assuring quality are dynamically inter-connected – each influences and informs the other. When the components interact effectively, they enable high-quality services which are reliable and continuously improving to meet the needs of those who use them.

Select from the menu below to read more about the core components of quality management.  

Planning for Quality

Planning helps you identify how you might have the biggest impact, it looks at what we need to do

Improving Quality

Improving quality supports a systematic and coordinated approach to solving problems using specific improvement methods and tools

Maintaining Quality

Maintaining quality supports routine monitoring to assess and maintain performance

Quality Assurance

Quality assurance involves internal and external processes to ensure services are operating effectively and providing quality care

Examples of Quality Management

Learn from other organisations that have made progress with quality management systems

Enablers of a quality management system

A good quality management system is underpinned by enablers of quality and change, such as having a clear vision and purpose, ensuring process rigour, ensuring activities are people-led, and organisational leadership and culture.

What are the benefits

There are many benefits, these include:

putting the needs of those who use services at an organisation’s core and improving outcomes
creating a shared purpose and a common vision
supporting the needs of those who use services
eliminating quality and safety defects
building resilience in the organisation 
helping organisations to understand their improvement priorities and design interventions to achieve them
having defined roles and processes for staff
managing daily operations and track progress with data
creating a strong culture of quality and safety
allowing organisations to respond to system and national priorities

Get involved

If you would like to find out more, or connect with others around QMS, please contact his.qms@nhs.scot

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