Royal College Of Psychiatrists Launches ‘Centre For Quality Improvement’, UK
April 26, 2007 – 8:17 pm | posted in Psychology / PsychiatryThe Royal College of Psychiatrists today launches its new Centre for Quality Improvement which puts clinicians at the centre of work to raise standards of mental healthcare in the UK.
The College Centre for Quality Improvement brings together 30 staff that work on national quality improvement initiatives and creates a new and enhanced role for clinicians and their professional bodies in raising standards.
The development of better mental health services has long been a priority. Service frameworks, which are blueprints for how care should be organised and delivered, have been published by Government in England, Scotland and Wales, and there has been substantial new investment.
However, policy directives, national targets and new investment will not lead to better services unless front-line staff are fully involved in the process of change. This requires leadership from the professions involved in mental healthcare.
The new College Centre for Quality Improvement manages a range of national initiatives that engage directly with clinicians, other front-line staff and managers and supports them to take responsibility for improving local mental health services. More than 90% of mental health services in the UK participate in one or more of these initiatives.
The Centre:
– sets standards for the organisation and delivery of mental health services;
– engages with front-line staff and supports them to measure their own service against these standards;
– recognizes local achievement, including by offering accreditation, and identifies areas for improvement;
– works with local teams to develop and implement plans for service improvement;
– works actively with other professional bodies, so that staff of all disciplines are engaged in the work;
– works in partnership with service users and carers, and encourages local mental health services to do the same;
– works with both NHS and independent sector services in the UK (there is increasing interest from services in other countries);
– encourages mental healthcare staff from different services to support each other and share good ideas through peer-review, newsletters, email discussion groups, and workshops.
Dr Paul Lelliott, Director of the College Research and Training Unit, said, "Clinicians and other front-line staff often do not engage with service change that is driven by top-down implementation of national policy. Also, the command and control culture of the NHS ties managers up to such an extent that they are no longer able to support their staff to improve local services ."
"The College Centre for Quality Improvement brings front-line staff centre stage, encourages them to engage in the process of setting standards and supports them for as long as it takes for them to meet these standards."
"National policies and targets change; the needs of patients and the problems faced by staff do not. The Royal College of Psychiatrists is a permanent feature of the mental healthcare landscape and, through its new Centre for Quality Improvement, is now able to make a lasting contribution to raising the standards of UK mental healthcare."
The College Research and Training Unit is a department of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
The current work of the Centre includes:
Accreditation of: acute psychiatric wards - electroconvulsive therapy clinics - therapeutic communities in prisons - National quality improvement networks for: services for people who self-harm therapeutic communities - child and adolescent mental health units - community child and adolescent mental health services - medium secure psychiatric units National audit of violence in - inpatient settings The UK Prescribing Observatory for Mental Health 360 degree assessment for consultant psychiatrists Funding arrangements Central funding i.e. Big Lottery, - The following arrangements exist: Healthcare Commission Local funding i.e. fully-funded by subscriptions from participants - Tapered funding i.e. partial funding from central funding with top-up - funding from participants Further information on the Centre for Quality Improvement is available here.
You must be logged in to post a comment.