Improving quality focuses on what could be better.
What is it
Improving quality is a systematic and coordinated approach to making services or processes better. It focuses on achieving measurable benefits by:
- solving problems
- utilising specific improvement methods and tools
Improving quality draws on a breadth of methods, including those within the quality improvement discipline, engagement practices, service design and strategic planning.
Why is it important
Improving quality is important because it helps ensure those who use services receive safe, effective, and reliable care. By focusing on improving quality, organisations can reduce errors, improve outcomes, and make the best use of resources, leading to improved experience for those who use and deliver services.
Improving quality is central to delivering safer, more effective, and responsive services. It requires a structured and rigorous approach, including:
- listening to staff, service users, and families
- using data to understand problems
- defining clear improvement goals
- testing small changes to assess impact
- collaborating to create sustainable improvements
What are the key activities
The Quality Improvement Zone (available on TURAS Learn) shows the stages involved in improving quality. Improving quality requires a robust and methodical approach to the following:
- creating the conditions
- understanding systems
- developing aims
- testing changes
- implement
- spread
To successfully improve quality, staff need the right support and skills. This enables them to:
- address issues they can control
- escalate issues they cannot
- learn from successful changes and apply lessons elsewhere
Key actions
Consider the following:
- building improvement capacity and capability across the organisation
- establishing a small group of experts to provide coaching and mentoring
- empowering teams to make improvements close to the front line
- involving those who use and deliver services in the process
Improving quality during change
This helps focus on finding better ways to deliver services. This makes them safer, more effective, and more responsive to users’ needs. It requires a structured, rigorous approach to testing changes. This means:
- listening to people who use and deliver services
- using data to understand problems
- being clear about what you are trying to improve
- testing small changes to see if they make a difference
- working together to make improvements that last
This stage in change focuses on using various methods. This includes quality improvement, engagement practices, service design, and strategic planning. Changes should be co-designed and tested with service users, providers, and enablers of quality and change. This process should follow a structured cycle of ongoing tests.
Use both qualitative and quantitative data to assess the change’s impact and value. Reflect at each test cycle and during the formal review point.
Practical support
Find out about the quality improvement journey on TURAS Learn.
Find tools and resources to support improving quality.