Foreword

I am delighted to write this foreword for the second ACHS Improvement Academy Patient Safety Lead and Quality Improvement Lead Program Project Summaries booklet, for projects undertaken during 2017 and2018.

With the publication of the inaugural edition of the booklet last year, a platform was created that allowed the many exciting projects achieved by graduates to be published and available to a broader audience.

The response from those considering undertaking a Lead Course when seeing the booklet was recognition that the weight of achievement from the two respective programs was certainly worth the level of investmentrequired. The scope of the different projects undertaken by the two Lead programs is an indication of the reach the Improvement Academy has had throughout the Australian healthcare industry, and indeed, for this year – beyond our shores. Program participants run the gamut of clinicians and quality and safety managerial positions from large metropolitan hospitals to smaller rural and remote services and everything in between. This year the complexity of projects has been just as varied as with the first year, and the core principles of quality improvement science continue to underpin the courses. It is important to remember that many people have contributed to the Academy’s success since it was launched, and I wish to personally thank the Academy’s Faculty, and its Director, Bernie Harrison, who have all contributed and shared their knowledge and expertise. We live in an era of ever-expanding knowledge creation, and with it some responsibility to ensure new knowledge is put to good purpose. Whether it is the sharing of lived experiences, problem-solving or determining a new way forward when the status quo has been around forever, the Improvement Academy’s lead Training programs have a very definite goal. Their aim is to ensure participants are exposed to learnings that are grounded in a specific framework but are also inventive when making a world of difference to delivering patient quality and safetyideas. At ACHS we are very proud of what has been achieved in a relatively short period of time with the Improvement Academy and trust that this booklet will impress readers with contemporary health education offerings that meet international best practice in the field of quality andsafety.

Dr Christine Dennis

Chief Executive Officer, ACHS

October 2018