Category: project-02
Prof Monica Lakhanpaul
Professor Monica Lakhanpaul leads a multi-disciplinary translational research group at UCL, that focuses on Health Services Research which has direct impact on health policy and clinical practice. Her research program aims to take a multi-disciplinary, integrated and collaborative approach to improving outcomes for children. Her research also aims to transform services for patients.
Professor Lakhanpaul’s research focuses on the translation of evidence into clinical practice and health policy, drawing together education, primary and secondary research to improve health outcomes for children. Her research crosses primary, community and hospital care, social care and education.
Professor Lakhanpaul’s research falls under four main themes; Applied Translation of Evidence In to Policy and Practice (through systematic review, guideline development, decision and prediction rule development), Improvement Science (with a particular focus on partnership production with parents, patients and health professionals; co-production with communities to develop tailored health interventions: MIA study), Conditions (with a specific interest in respiratory illness; asthma, and the acutely sick child) and Inequalities in Health (tailoring interventions for hard to reach groups, health tourism and the use of translators and interpreters to reduce inequalities).
NEON project makes the news
Our innovative Nurture Early for Optimal Nutrition (NEON) project has made the headlines..in India!. The project is exploring whether a South Asian model proven to promote healthy nutrition in children can “travel” successfully to the UK and help children of Bangladeshi origin in East London.Professor Monica Lakhanpaul is leading the project and spoke to The Goan newspaper about the bi-directional exchange of knowledge that is making a difference in one of London’s less advantaged communities.
Professor David Osborn
Professor Osborne’s research focuses on the interface between physical and mental health, psychiatric epidemiology and the provision of effective services for people with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. He also works on improving acute care. He has been a clinical academic consultant at UCL since 2003. David also works as a NHS consultant psychiatrist in Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust.
Dr Janet Anderson
Dr Anderson is a human factors psychologist specialising in the quality and safety of healthcare. She was a co-applicant on our bid to reseach implementation of the QUASER guide across hospitals – the project entitled Implementation and evaluation of a guide for NHS boards to develop their quality improvement (QI) strategies (iQUASER)
Dr Susan Burnett
Dr Burnett has a research interests patient safety, comparing the approaches taken in different European countries; organisational strategies to improve patient safety; and the role of the Board, senior leaders and managers in patient safety including the impact of management systems on the reliability of healthcare. She is a co-applicant on our project assessing Implementation and evaluation of a research-based guide for NHS boards to develop their quality improvement (QI) strategies (iQUASER)
Professor Glenn Robert
Professor Robert has research interests around frameworks and methods to address organisational design and development challenges facing the NHS; evaluating quality and knowledge management initiatives. He is a co-applicant on our project working with NHS Boards on Quality Improvement – Implementation and evaluation of a research-based guide for NHS boards to develop their quality improvement (QI) strategies (iQUASER)
Award winning short film about the project
Dr Golnar Aref-Adib has produced a fantastic video about health related internet use amongst people with experience of psychosis. The short film won joint first prize in the prestigious NIHR new media competition.
Click on the image below to watch Lets go Digital
Professor Robert Horne
Prof Rob Horne founded the Centre for Behavioural Medicine at the UCL School of Pharmacy in 2006 and has developed a range of valid and reliable tools to assess patient perspectives of illness and treatments. Over the past decade, his research has generated over 140 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and research grants over £10M (as PI and co-applicant). Rob was designated a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 2010 and was appointed a NIHR Senior Investigator in 2011. In 2012 he was appointed as UCL’s academic lead for the Centre for the Advancement of Sustainable Medical Innovation (CASMI), a joint undertaking with the University of Oxford. In 2005/6 he led a scoping exercise commissioned by the NIHR Service Delivery and Organisation (SDO) Programme to produce a conceptual map of compliance, adherence and concordance and to identify priorities for future research. This work formed the basis for the NICE Medicine Adherence Guidelines which he co-authored in 2009. He has also advised the European Parliament, MRC, DoH, NHS and the WHO.
iQUASER workshop for NHS Trust Boards
Helping NHS Trusts develop their quality strategies
Quality and quality improvement are now recognised as imperative for all NHS organisations in England. A recent workshop brought together leaders of six NHS Trusts to develop their organisation-wide quality improvement strategies.
QUASER (Quality and Safety in European Union Hospitals) is a research-based tool senior hospital leadership teams can use to identify the strengths and possible weaknesses in their organisation’s quality and safety improvement efforts, and what they need to do to improve. The QUASER Guide was the result of a three year project in 5 European countries which studied organisational and cultural factors influencing quality improvement (QI). The intervention provides suggested strategies for how Trusts could be organised better in order to deliver high quality and safe services.
Implementing QUASER in the UK
The QUASER intervention is being implemented in the UK by one of NIHR CLAHRC North Thames’ industry partners, the Foresight Centre for Governance within GE Healthcare Finnamore. Foresight works with public services to develop and improve leadership and Board-level effectiveness. It is helping Boards in six NHS Trusts develop their organisation-wide QI strategies through QUASER.
Evaluating the intervention
In parallel to this work the CLAHRC is conducting an evaluation of this intervention to assess and understand its impact within the six Trusts taking part. As one of the projects under our Innovations in systems and models of health and health care research theme researchers will use quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the total costs & benefits of the different interventions.
The iQUASER Workshop
A workshop in early November was run by the Foresight Centre and offered the chance for the six participating Trust Boards to develop their organisation-wide quality improvement strategies. The one-day workshop brought together all participating NHS trusts. 23 board level executives and non-executives came together with the overriding aim to develop a collective understanding of the QUASER Guide, learn about the evidence which underpins it and develop a clear sense of the elements of an effective quality improvement strategy.
Prior to the event, senior leaders from the Trusts received analysis of their current QI strategic position, having completed the QUASER guide self-assessment tool. Trusts were able to review, reflect and discuss their results both in terms of areas of strength and those that may require further focus.
In the afternoon the board level executives convened to participate in the first of three ‘action learning sets’ aimed at creating a supportive environment for participating organisations to draw on their collective experience and wisdom of those present.
Next steps – By the close of the day the participants arrived at specific goals or commitments to take their quality improvement strategies and interventions forward. The group will reconvene for the second of three action learning sets in January.
Background to the iQUASER project – the quality improvement agenda in the NHS
The Francis Report reinforced the need for effective quality improvement strategies within NHS Trusts. All NHS organisation in England are being mandated to provide care that is clinically effective, safe and provides as positive an experience for patients as possible. Successful improvement programmes are vital for achieving this so this programme is particularly timely.
For more information about the QUASER project and the Guide see: The QUASER project
