Louise Northway

Quality Improvement Clinical Lead (RVN)

Lou qualified as an RVN in 2009 and has worked in various first opinion practices and a referral hospital. Since qualifying, she has undertaken two further certificates in anaesthesia and ECC.

She is currently Clinical Nurse Lead at a busy first opinion practice in Buckinghamshire. Alongside this, she lectures internationally to nurses in her areas of interest and is a member of the IVC Evidensia QI steer group. She previously was a member of the BVNA council and was the BVNA representative in the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme Group.

Lou’s QI adventure began in 2017 when she started auditing ahead of her clinic's RCVS Practice Standards inspection. During this time, she had an epiphany of its importance and how it could be used to help make positive changes in practice. Her mindset changed from “What are we doing" to "How are we doing? And how can we make it better?"

From auditing and measuring outcomes, her role expanded to involve reviewing up-to-date evidence and guidelines, which she used to make improvements alongside reflecting on audit results. Lou also has a huge interest in human factors which she feels sits hand in hand with quality improvement.

In 2019, she was awarded the RCVS Inspiration Award for her ability to inspire and enthuse others and was also awarded as an RCVS Knowledge Champion for two consecutive years for her clinical audits undertaken in practice. Her audits helped to make clinical improvements in patient outcomes in anaesthesia and post-op care.

She is keen to inspire and encourage veterinary teams to join in the QI movement as she believes it is pivotal in improving clinical standards and communication and enhancing patient safety. She believes QI spearheads a collaborative and supportive working environment where everyone has a voice.

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