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IMPLEMENTATION RESEARCH IN PATIENT SAFETY: THE NEXT FRONTIER FOR IMPROVING PATIENT CARE? Professor Nick Sevdalis, 29 March 2019

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Abstract: Patient safety has established itself as a multidisciplinary research arena for over 2 decades. During this time, a number of high profile safety-improvement interventions have been developed and evaluated, with some showing very promising results in scientific trials and other studies. Yet, descriptive evidence and anecdotal accounts from the frontline of healthcare delivery suggest that some of these interventions have struggled to gain adequate traction within routine health services – such that their expected positive impact on patient outcomes has not always been consistent.

In this seminar I will explore some of the above barriers, with specific examples from acute healthcare. I will offer an overview of the basic tenets of implementation science and reflect on their application within the current evidence base for patient safety. I will conclude the seminar with a call for reflection and debate with the audience regarding the need for further patient safety studies that evaluate clinical effectiveness, compared to studies that focus on implementation effectiveness instead – arguing that the latter are now more timely than ever.

Biography: A psychologist by training, Nick is Director of the Centre for Implementation Science at King’s College London, Academic Director of the Quality Improvement and Implementation Science Clinical Academic Group within King’s Health Partners, Chief Editor of BMJ Simulation and Technology Enhanced Learning and Associate Editor of Implementation Science. His research is situated at the interface of patient safety, improvement and implementation sciences. For the past 15 years, Nick has been studying perioperative and cancer pathways, aiming to address human factors in care delivery; to understand barriers and drivers of implementing and sustaining evidence-based improvement interventions; and to increase capacity to undertake safety and quality improvement at the frontline of healthcare delivery. His research has been disseminated in over 300 publications and chapters to-date.

Presentation slides available here

REDUCING HAZARDOUS PRESCRIBING AND IMPROVING PATIENT SAFETY IN PRIMARY CARE: Professor Darren Ashcroft, 28 February 2019

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Abstract: Improving patient safety in healthcare settings is a major concern globally. Medicines are the most commonly used clinical intervention in healthcare, and errors involving the prescribing, dispensing, administration and monitoring steps of medication use are common. Such medication errors can prolong hospital stay and lead to significant patient morbidity. Given this, the World Health Organisation has recently identified ‘Medication Without Harm’ as the priority for their third Global Patient Safety Challenge which aims to reduce severe avoidable medication-related harm by 50% globally in the next 5 years.  In primary care settings, we have been working to address these challenges focused on reducing hazardous prescribing as part of the work programme within the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (PSTRC). The seminar will focus on the interventional studies underway, lessons learnt and plans for the future.

Biography: Darren holds the Foundation Professorship in Pharmacoepidemiology and is Head of the Drug Usage and Pharmacy Practice Group at the University of Manchester. He is the Deputy Director of the NIHR Greater Manchester PSTRC, in which he also leads the medication safety research theme. He is also a member of the Pharmacovigilance Expert Advisory Group (PEAG) at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

As a pharmacist and pharmaco-epidemiologist, his major research interests and teaching include: methods to improve the appropriateness and safety of drug prescribing and drug taking, and quantification of the risks and benefits of drug therapies. He has led extensive research programmes focused on patient safety in a wide range of healthcare settings (hospitals, general practices, and pharmacies), with particular expertise in understanding and improving medication safety.

Presentation slides available here

PRACTITIONER AND PATIENT INVOLVEMENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTOMATED RISK SCORE PACKAGE TO PREDICT THE RISK OF DEATH OR SEPSIS FOLLOWING EMERGENCY MEDICAL ADMISSION TO HOSPITAL: Dr Judith Dyson and Dr Claire Marsh, 24 January 2019

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Abstract: Quality and safety of care remains a priority for the NHS but approximately 5% of deaths in English hospitals are preventable, and attributed to poor quality of care.  Patients who are admitted to hospital towards the end of their lives can experience inadequate decision making, poor communication and suboptimal treatment and there is the need for clinical staff to recognise as soon as possible that a person is dying and to communicate this clearly to others.  Over a two year research study in two NHS hospitals, a suite of four automated risk scores was developed that use routinely collected electronically stored data to provide clinicians with estimates of patients’ risk of death and sepsis during their stay in hospital. These scores rely on two key clinical data sources – the patients vital signs data as defined and monitored by the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) and routine blood test results.  Staff and patient involvement has been integral to the development of the scores.  In this presentation, we outline the findings of 8 focus groups involving 11 service users and carers, and 45 health care practitioners, and explain how these have contributed to an understanding of value and potential use of the scores in practice.

Biography: Dr Judith Dyson is a registered general and mental health nurse, a health psychologist and her research focuses on the use of psychological theory in supporting practitioners in implementing best practice.

Dr Claire Marsh is a research fellow in quality, safety and patient experience and also leads patient and public engagement for the Yorkshire & Humber Improvement Academy.

Presentation slides available here

DIVERSITY IN PRACTICE LEADERSHIP – A QUESTION OF CARE, QUALITY AND SAFETY: Professor Laura Serrant, 22 November 2018

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Abstract: Nursing and healthcare in the 21st century is charged with delivering high quality care within an increasingly diverse society. Much of the policy, practice and research drivers around cultural competence, diversity and nursing practice focuses on meeting the needs of patients, service users and the public – particularly following the findings of the Francis Report (2013). However, recent reports have highlighted that highlighting the need for compassionate care for patients often occurs in isolation from recognising the needs of the workforce or the nursing profession as a whole – in this regard we do ourselves a dis-service – and in the silent spaces between patient need and workforce responsibilities, we fail to acknowledge the importance of professional leadership as the catalyst to delivering the high quality, equitable and culturally competent care that we all hope for. This presentation will use personal and professional reflections to highlight the importance of culturally competent and compassionate leadership to truly achieving safety and quality in 21st century health care. It explores the challenges and opportunities faced at an individual and professional level in the UK. It looks back at nursing strategic drivers of the last 3 years in the UK and makes a case for centralising culturally competent, compassionate leadership in the light of the new strategic framework for nurses, midwives and care staff (2016)

Biography: Professor Laura Serrant OBE is Professor of Nursing in the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing at Sheffield Hallam University, one of the few black Professors of Nursing (out of 262) in the UK. She is one of the 2017 BBC Expert women, Chair of the Chief Nursing Officer for England’s BME Strategic Advisory group and a 2017 Florence Nightingale Scholar. She is an ambassador of the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue and the Equality Challenge Unit Race Equality Charter for Higher Education. Her work has been recognised with numerous awards and prizes, including Queens Nurse status and Fellowship of the Queens Nursing Institute to those who have shown leadership in community nursing. In 2014, she was named as one of the top 50 leaders in the UK by The Health Services Journal in three separate categories: Inspirational Women in Healthcare, BME Pioneers and Clinical Leader awards. The Powerlist 2018 lists her as the 8th most influential Black person in the UK. She was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list this year for services to Health Policy.

Presentation slides available here

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