“Quality is meeting and exceeding the customer’s needs and expectations and then continuing to improve”.
~ William Edwards Deming ~
Western Health acknowledges that improvement, innovation and creativity in an organisation is key to supporting the achievement of the organisation’s strategic goals and objectives and for the provision of Best Care.
The ability to continuously improve and enhance care is achieved as a direct result of an existing organisational culture that promotes improvement. Western Health provides an excellent environment where employees are encouraged to explore their creativity and innovation and participate in improvement initiatives, and acknowledge that the improvement journey should never stop.
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Live Best Care Improvement Framework
The Live Best Care Improvement Framework provides a systematic, organisation-wide approach to quality improvement, and sets out how this can be achieved by building individual and organisational capability. It ensures that continuous improvement can be achieved across the Best Care domains of person-centred, co-ordinated, right and safe care.
Organisational strategy for improvement matrix (OSIM) Survey
OSIM is a tool health services can use to self-assess their organisation’s level of improvement capability. It is structured around four key areas, known as ‘Domains,’ referred to in the literature as common to high-performing organisations, and framed in the context of improvement.
The four domains of OSIM:
- Organisational systems and structures
- Workforce capability and development
- Results and system impact
- Culture and behaviours
Western Health last administered this survey in 2018 and is planning on repeating OSIM in 2024
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Improvement Methodology
Western Health has adopted the Institute for Healthcare and Improvement’s (IHI) Model for Improvement methodology to guide and provide a standardised and consistent approach to improvement activity. The model is a simple tool for enhancing improvement and consists of two main parts:
- Three fundamental questions
- The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle to test the outcomes of the improvement activity in a real work setting
The IHI Improvement Model has many similarities with the provision of clinical care. It
involves the identification and diagnosis of a problem, measurement of the scope and size of the problem, identification of a number of interventions that may reduce the problem, implementation of the intervention and re-measurement to ascertain whether the interventions have been effective.There are three questions that underlie the improvement process:
- What are we trying to accomplish?
- How will we know that a change is an improvement? What do we need to measure?
- What changes can we make that will result in an improvement?
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Recording your Improvement Project
Step 1: Improvement Register
Improvement activity is recorded on the Western Health Microsoft 365 SharePoint Improvement Register.
The Improvement Register is used to effectively track and manage improvement projects occurring across the organisation. The aim of an Improvement Register is to reduce the likelihood of duplication of improvement activities, provide the ability to highlight successful projects, and provide organisational oversight of improvement activity while providing a key source of evidence for ensuring compliance with National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards.
Following endorsement for an improvement activity to proceed, the improvement activity must be entered into the Improvement Register as soon as possible and no later than one week following endorsement.
For assistance in how to add an Improvement Activity to the register you can access the Improvement Register QRG
Step 2: Life QI and Improvement Workbooks
Life QI
Life QI is an all-in-one cloud-based quality improvement platform which contains a host of tools and templates to help organisations run projects, track data and analyse outcomes to make improvement happen.
It supports teams to plan, monitor and report progress of their improvement projects, as well as connect with other members of the Quality Improvement community.
Life QI utilises the IHI methodology and supports the utilisation of incorporated tools including driver diagrams, charting functionality (e.g. Run Charts) and PDSA cycle documentation templates that support users to move through the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle through the life of an improvement activity or project.
LifeQI Introductory Training can be accessed HERE
Life QI Licence
The Best Care Governance and Support Improvement Team are working towards providing access to Life QI for all improvement activity participants. Life QI Licences will be issued by the Best Care Governance and Support Improvement Team for suitable improvement activities.
The Improvement Coordinators will also revoke Life QI Licences at the completion of an improvement activity, if improvement activity progress has stalled or the licensee is under utilising Life QI.
How should I apply for a Life QI Licence?
Licences can be requested through the Improvement Register by completing the field ‘Life QI Licences Required?’ and will be assigned and managed by the Improvement Coordinators.
Improvement Workbooks
The Improvement Workbooks are another helpful tool to support teams to complete and record improvement activities if access to Life QI had not been granted.
There are 3 different workbooks to choose from
Follow the ‘Size It Up Guide’ to determine which workbook is appropriate for the to support the proposed improvement activity.
Once you have completed your improvement activity upload your completed improvement workbook to the improvement register
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Improvement Coordinators
Western Health has two Improvement Coordinators within the Best Care Governance and Support Division.
The primary objective of the Improvement Coordinators is to build capability and capacity for staff to perform continuous improvement activity at Western Health. They have a well-developed understanding of the IHI Model for Improvement and are available to provide consultation and support for all aspects of improvement activity inclusive of:
- Advising on how aims and objectives may be delivered
- Assisting staff to identify underlying issues and the driver behind the change
- The utilisation of outcome measures to evaluate success
Before contacting the Improvement Coordinators, approval should be sought from the Line Manager with regards to resourcing a proposed improvement activity.
Throughout the year the Improvement Coordinators deliver training sessions for staff in facets of improvement science to build capacity in staff to conduct improvement activities.
For all improvement enquiries and support, email the Western Health Improvement Team at Improvement@wh.org.au
demonstrate how each staff member is a fundamental contributor to creating a culture of continuous improvement and driving the responsibility for improvement and change to every staff member.