“What is my project?” CORPORATE AND GENERAL NEWS

There is so much learning and improvement coming out of locally run projects across SWB team, but do you know where to get support with your project (clinical audit, quality improvement projects, service evaluation, research)?

I want to test a hypothesis (Example “Patients on drug X will have significantly better outcomes than patients on drug Y” or groups understanding and experiences of Z)

Research:

- Designed to derive new knowledge

- Addresses clearly defined questions, aims and objectives, is generalisable

- Normally requires research Ethics

- Committee Review

- Qualitative and quantitative

A key place to start is understanding what methodology you are using so you can get support from the most appropriate corporate team.

The clinical effectiveness team have put together this diagram to help increase understanding of the different project types and how they are supported at SWB:

What do I want from my project?

I want to know if my service meets a pre-determined standard (e.g. Are we following NICE guidance?)

I want to get a better understanding of what standard my service achieves (e.g. Is our outpatient clinic effective?)

I want to test changes that may improve my service (e.g. How can I improve DNA rates?)

SWB Research and Innovation Team swbh.randd.generic@nhs.net

Register your research

Ethical approval

Clinical Audit:

- Measures current local practice against agreed standards

- Can be for assurance or improvement

- Does not normally require ethics approval

Service evaluation:

- May measure a range of indicators, without reference to standards

- Does not normally require ethics approval

Clinical Effectiveness Team swbh.auditteam-clineffec@nhs.net

Register on Audit module of SafeGuard Resources on Connect to support audit methodology and creating change

Library and Knowledge Services

Literature reviews of existing national guidance and research Workshops for getting your work published swbh.library@nhs.net

There is also a resource available from our research and development team to help clarify if a project is research: Is my study research? (hra-decisiontools.org.uk)

As indicated in the diagram, it is important to register clinical audits, service evaluations and local quality improvement projects on the audit module within safeguard. This enables the clinical effectiveness team to confirm that your project follows information governance and clinical governance best practice. It also means your project is part of a central repository that informs the whole trust what learning and improvement is happening throughout the trust. (We also provide you with a poster when you’ve told us that you have completed your project, which looks in portfolios!)

Other support offered by the clinical effectiveness team includes:

• Ready made electronic resources on our Connect page (https://connect2. swbh.nhs.uk/governance/clinicaleffectiveness/)

Quality improvement project:

- Designed and conducted to test change ideas

- Continuous data collection to monitor direct and indirect impact of change

- May require ethical consideration if a test of change could negative impact patients

Clinical Effectiveness Team for small scale projects

Register your project on SafeGuard Improvement Team for Trust wide improvement programmes swbh.improvementteampmo@nhs.net

Access QIP tools through Connect

• Training sessions tailored to your team

• Ad-hoc support and guidance over the phone or on Teams

Please get in touch about your project, or any queries about this article:

Email us – swbh.auditteam-clineffec@nhs.net

Come and see us –

Trinity House, Governance Corridor, Sandwell General Hospital