Adapt, Improve, Achieve

9:00 Getting the team on board to own and deliver improvement

Shobhan Thakore, Scottish Quality & Safety Fellowship (SQSF)

The SQSF is an international lead level training programme with participants from Scotland, Northern Ireland, Canada, Norway and Denmark. Shobhan Thakore is the Clinical Lead for the programme, which develops improvement leaders by training them in the underpinning science and in leadership skills to help affect change. In this session, he tells the story of the evolution of a performance culture in the NHS and how quality improvement is being used to shift this towards a value-based approach. He will outline recent initiatives, such as Realistic Medicine in the Scottish NHS, as a way to engage staff, manage expectations and deal with increasing fear of litigation. He believes everyone in healthcare has two roles each working day — to do their job delivering healthcare and to improve it.

9:55 Quality improvement in vet practice: where the profession is right now

Tom Ling: Head of Evaluation and Senior Research Leader at RAND Europe

The recent emphasis on quality improvement (QI) in veterinary practice might suggest that there has been a lack of quality in the past. Not so, says Tom Ling, who was commissioned by RCVS Knowledge to look at QI within the profession. However, he feels that systems and protocols do matter in a world where knowledge and expertise is increasing rapidly; new practices are being set up, and older ones sold at a rate not seen before; where recruitment and retention is an issue; and client expectations are very different to a generation before. Tom has carried out similar work within human health and is, therefore, able to make informed comparisons. He will share the research he carried out and his reflections on what vet practice can learn from the NHS, as well as the challenges and opportunities he sees as particular to the veterinary profession. This will be an interactive session, inviting delegates to share their views of what QI does and should look like in veterinary practice.

11:20 Safety and the human factor: thinking differently

Suzette Woodward, Patient Safety Specialist, NHS

Suzette has worked on patient safety in the NHS for 20 years and has contributed to RCVS/NHS One Health events involving the UK veterinary profession. She believes that much of the learning from human health, both in the UK and worldwide, is transferable, and that the veterinary profession can learn from their achievements and their mistakes. In particular, Suzette looks at how the pursuit of patient safety and excellence within the NHS gave rise to an over-emphasis on looking for negligence — leading to a blame culture — and how they are trying to move on from that. She will discuss the four levels of staff competence and why the highest level does not necessarily equate to the highest level of safety or excellence.

12:15 Systems thinking for safe practice

Richard Killen and Angela Rayner, CVS

Mistakes in practice can be reduced by having good systems. For example, ensuring that all animals are clearly identified from the moment they are admitted will minimise the risk of medication errors; as will storing drugs with similar appearance in different places within the practice. CVS are embedding quality improvement and systems design throughout their practices, led by former Director of Clinical Services Richard Killen, and Clinical Services Manager Angela Rayner, who is currently studying for a Master's in Patient Safety and Clinical Human Factors. This will be a practical session showing what system design looks like in practice. They will discuss how to embed ‘systems thinking’ within your practice team, encouraging constructive analysis of significant events, as well as daily practices, leading to constant review of audits, checklists, protocols and guidelines.

14:10 How we do it: quality improvement in practice - case studies

Louise Northway, Wendover Heights Veterinary Centre; Alison Thomas, Blue Cross; Liz Cox, IVC; Richard Byrne, West Bar Veterinary Hospital. Chaired by Dan Tipney, VetLed

A panel of vets and nurses from very different practices and groups of practices share their first-hand experience of QI in their workplaces. From hand hygiene to temperature management of anaesthetised animals, Liz Cox, Group Nursing Advisor at IVC shares the value of audits, while Louise Northway (Lou the Vet Nurse), from Wendover Heights VC, and Alison Thomas, Chief Vet at Blue Cross, explain what they did in their practices to become RCVS Knowledge QI Champions. Richard Byrne, PSS Assessor and a vet at West Bar Hospital, explains the role his practice management system played in QI. Dan Tipney brings his wide experience of QI and safety from the veterinary profession, interviewing the panel and chairing an audience Q&A.

To book: Book your place on the SPVS-VMG booking page.