The programme supports staff to build practical Quality Improvement (QI) skills while leading improvement work within their own services. 

 

Across the cohort, our improvers applied QI methods to:

• understand the problem
• engage colleagues, service users and stakeholders to test changes in real settings
• use data to learn what was working — and what needed further refining

Each improver was supported throughout by a QI mentor.

A huge congratulations to all Cohort 22 graduates. Your

commitment, curiosity and persistence have helped turn local issues into structured improvement projects, strengthening improvement capability across NELFT. We are excited to see how you continue to support teams to improve and apply our method for improvement.

 

From reducing waiting times and improving medicines safety to supporting earlier dementia diagnosis and preventing avoidable admissions, Cohort 22’s projects show how practical QI methods can make a meaningful difference across services. During graduation, we saw a diverse range of improvement work focused on the challenges and priorities in day-to-day care and support. You can read more about each project by clicking the links to the posters below:

·   Angela Quaynor explored how children on the Sensory Pathway could be seen sooner, reducing the average percentage waiting over 18 weeks from 49% to 40%, with the lowest point reaching 30%.

·   Beenish Ali used QI methods to improve opioid dispensing practice on Thorndon Ward, supporting safer, more appropriate quantities of morphine and oxycodone solutions and spreading learning to other wards.

·   Charlotte Peeling helped develop and test an Enhanced Support Pathway in Havering, contributing to a 42% reduction in weekly adult mental health inpatient admissions and estimated savings of around £23,122 per week if sustained.

·   Clarissa May tackled waiting times in Waltham Forest Nutrition and Dietetic Services, testing changes such as extra appointment slots and virtual assistant booking to understand what could — and could not — improve access.

·  Helen Kabir improved discharge medication efficiency on Monet Ward by empowering pharmacist independent prescribers to amend TTAs, reducing the average ordering-stage waiting time from 83.68 minutes to 13.2 minutes — an 84.2% reduction.

·  Marike De Klerk focused on improving completion of physical health checks within 24 hours of admission on Kahlo Ward, increasing completion from 44% to 71% to support earlier identification of physical health risks

·   Nafiz Imtiaz led work to improve comprehensive monitoring for patients on high-risk medications, increasing monitoring from 0% to 54% through better identification, MDT working and plans for Power BI-supported sustainability.

·   Olubunmi Kusoro focused on reducing referral-to-initial-assessment waits in Barking and Dagenham Memory Services, bringing the average wait down from 62 days to 52 days after testing administrative process improvements.

·  Rukeya Begum reviewed anticholinergic burden in older adult mental health inpatients on Cook Ward, introducing pharmacist-led reviews to reduce medication-related risks linked to cognitive decline, delirium, dementia deterioration and falls.

·   Shahmyla Majid investigated how Waltham Forest Home Treatment Team could reduce unnecessary blister packs, identifying short-term leave prescribing processes as a key opportunity to improve pharmacy workload, safety and discharge flow.

·   Steliana Circiumaru used QI to understand and reduce inappropriate antenatal referrals, with learning escalated to senior management and raised nationally with NHS England for wider review.

·   Tahiya Twaha improved timely dementia diagnostic feedback for Havering care home residents, reducing the average time from referral to feedback from 88 days to 41 days.

·   Usman Khan focused on improving throughput for Priority 3 children’s occupational therapy patients, testing parent follow-up calls after report completion to support confidence, consistency and earlier discharge planning.

 

Explore the graduate projects in more detail below:  

Angela Quaynor - QI storyboard.pptx [pptx] 3MB

Beenish Ali - QI storyboard.pptx [pptx] 3MB

Charlotte Peeling - QI Storyboard.pptx [pptx] 3MB

Clarissa May - QI storyboard.pptx [pptx] 2MB

Helen Kabir - QI Storyboard.pptx [pptx] 3MB

Marike De Klerk - QI Storyboard.pptx [pptx] 2MB

Nafiz Imtiaz - QI storyboard.pptx [pptx] 3MB

Olubunmi Kusoro - QI Storyboard.pptx [pptx] 3MB

Rukeya Begum - QI storyboard.pptx [pptx] 2MB

Shahmyla Majid - QI storyboard.pptx [pptx] 3MB

Steliana Circiumaru - QI storyboard.pptx [pptx] 2MB

Tahiya Twaha - QI storyboard.pptx [pptx] 4MB

Usman Khan - QI Storyboard.pptx [pptx] 3MB

 

Want to lead your own QI Project? 

If you’re inspired to make a difference in your service, why not join the next cohort of the QI Facilitator Programme in April? Find out more here:    https://www.nelft.nhs.uk/qis-facilitator-training