Overcoming challenges in improvement work

Abstract

The Health Foundation is an independent charity working to improve healthcare in the UK, so that we have a system of the highest possible quality-safe, effective, person-centred, timely, efficient and equitable. We believe that in order to achieve this, health services need to continually improve the way they work. The Foundation conducts research and evaluation, puts ideas into practice through improvement programmes, develops leaders and shares evidence to drive wider change. The work is a focused around two priority areas: patient safety and person-centred care. The Foundation has supported work to improve services for patients with kidney disease and, in common with other quality improvement projects, there have been challenges to overcome. Awareness of these common challenges can help others to be more prepared when planning service improvements.

Keywords: Evaluation; Leadership; Patient involvement; Quality improvement; Staff engagement.