News & Updates
Applying Quality Improvement methods to optimise flow, demand & capacity
1 October 2021
By Auz Chitewe, Associate Director of Quality Improvement Across the organisation, many services are looking at how to manage demand for services, capacity to deliver the service and flow of service provision across the system. Due to increased numbers of referrals and the effects of having to prioritise the acute phase of the pandemic, more… Read More
Using QI To Manage A Huge Increase In Demand
29 September 2021
By Nicola Ballingall, Improvement Advisor In this 10 min read, learn about how one of our Primary Care GP practices in Bedfordshire, Cauldwell Medical Centre, is using quality improvement (QI) to manage the huge increase in demand on their service. It’s August 2021 and the world is starting to open up again after the pandemic. 98.2% of UK GPs state that… Read More
A Collaborative Approach to Reducing Waiting Times
20 September 2021
By Candace Sinclair, Improvement Advisor and Dr Laura Checkley, Consultant Psychiatrist, Hackney Integrated Learning Disability Service In this six-minute read, find out how Dr Laura Checkley and the City and Hackney Integrated Learning Disability Service (ILDS) galvanized energy for Quality Improvement during the Covid-19 pandemic and how they used working virtually to their advantage resulting in… Read More
Improving flow in Early Years Speech and Language Therapy
20 September 2021
Using Quality Improvement tools to get to testing change ideas. By Catherine Heaney, Improvement Advisor 5-minute read The Early Years Speech and Language Therapy Quality Improvement (QI) project began in April 2021. A multidisciplinary team was formed, representing a range a people from across the departmental and organisational boundaries in Specialist Children’s and Young… Read More
Working to Improve Health Outcomes & Reduce Inequalities for Homeless People
1 July 2021
By Sher Kayani, Improvement Advisor The Triple Aim project that aims to improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities for homeless people in the borough of Tower Hamlets is gaining momentum. The team made up of psychologists, assistant psychologists, psychiatrists, and service users from ELFT in addition to the staff and residents of two complex needs… Read More
Improving Access to Community Mental Health Team Buildings Central Beds – A Service User led QI project
20 September 2019
This month we sat down with Bob Cazley, a service user from Bedfordshire who is Project Lead on the only active Service User led and coached QI project here at ELFT. He told us about the project and about how important Service User involvement is in QI. Bob Cazley is a service user at East… Read More
Improving access and flow within CAMHS: the ADHD service story
28 January 2019
This is the first story of a series dedicated to improvement work in ELFT’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). Each week you will be able to learn more about a different QI project through their learning and achievements. Here’s the first one… City & Hackney CAMHS reduced the waiting time from referral to assessment… Read More
Reducing Time Taken to Complete Neuropsychological Assessments in Memory Assessment Services in Luton and Bedfordshire
10 January 2018
Memory Assessment Services in Luton and Bedfordshire have been working hard to reduce time taken to complete neuropsychological assessment. Read more about their journey and achievement below. The Psychology members of four multidisciplinary Memory Assessment Service (MAS) Clinics across Luton and Bedfordshire, collaborated on a cross-clinic project to reduce the time taken to complete a neuropsychological… Read More
Successful QI project achieves waiting times reduction
21 December 2017
The Improving Access to Learning Disability OT Service established a QI project with the aim of reducing waiting times for all referrals to 18 weeks. Click on the image to read more details. A successful Quality Improvement (QI) project has achieved a sharp drop in times Learning Disability (LD) service users wait to access a… Read More
Trust Board QI Story: reducing waiting times at Luton CMHT Psychology service
21 December 2017
Dr Timothy Sporle, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, presented some results from the QI project aimed at reducing wait times for 1st appointments in Luton in the latest ELFT Trust Board meeting. The presentation is available below. The Luton Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) Psychology service has seen a 50% drop in first contact wait times over… Read More
ELFT Memory Clinic wins RCPsych Team of the Year award for Quality Improvement
5 December 2017
The award was presented to representatives of the team at the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ head office in Prescot Street on 6 November 2017. East London NHS Foundation Trust’s Memory Clinic was the winner of the prestigious Psychiatric Team of the Year award, promoted by Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych). The annual awards mark the highest level of achievement… Read More
How having a solid QI strategy can help teams persevere
23 November 2017
QI Coach Charles Kennedy-Scott was involved in the Improving Access in City and Hackney Adult Mental Health project, which aimed at allowing 95% of patients to be given a face-to-face appointment by April 2017. In this blog, Charles reflects on how having a solid QI strategy in place can help teams persevere. In 2015-2016 the… Read More
How to keep going with QI when pressures mount
21 November 2017
Francisco Frasquilho, Improvement Advisor and QI Project Coach at Tower Hamlets, reflects on persistence and Quality Improvement, in collaboration with Project Leads Tamsin Black and Helen Healy The psychotherapy service (PTS) in Tower Hamlets began their Quality Improvement (QI) project on reducing therapy wait times in early 2016. With a new team operational lead and a keen… Read More
Reducing non attendance to the Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy Service
12 July 2017
Community Health Newham’s Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy Service developed a quality improvement project with the aim to reduce their DNA (Did Not Attend) rates. The service uses a Patient Booking Service and experiences high levels of referrals. When the project started, DNAs were accounting for 180 hours a month equivalent to 1 whole time equivalent physiotherapist. The… Read More
Celebrating 2 years of Improving Access to Services Collaboration!
12 July 2017
The improving access to services learning system was formed in March 2015. The aim of the learning system has been to bring together quality improvement projects from across the trust working on: Reducing Wait Times – Average days from referral accepted to first face-to-face contact Reducing DNA Rates – DNAs (Did Not Attend) before first… Read More
Improving Access in Children’s Services
11 July 2017
The Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Service The Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Service started their QI project in December 2015. The service dedicates time every Friday afternoon to focus on quality improvement and this time has involved teaching sessions on the methodology, presentations and project team meetings. All members of the service are part of the… Read More
Psychotherapy services improve access for service users…
11 July 2017
All three of the Trust’s Psychotherapy Services have been part of the Improving Access to Services Learning System. They have all been primarily working on improving the wait times and/or non-attendance rates for assessments/first face to face contacts. More recently the services have moved to focus on improving the wait to treatment. C&H Psychotherapy Service… Read More
City & Hackney CHAMHRAS reduce waiting times!
11 July 2017
City and Hackney Adult Mental Health Referral and Assessment Service (CHAMHRAS) are the single point of entry for all mental health referrals. Their QI project has been running for 2 years. The team initially prioritised reducing waiting times, as only 30% of patients were being seen within 28 days. The project aim was for 95% of… Read More
