title: Using service improvement methodology to change practice.
abstract: This article discusses the role of service improvement methodology in changing the quality of care delivered. It outlines the six-stage framework for quality improvement recommended by the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement. The reader is encouraged to complete a series of activities to plan and deliver a service improvement project. Potential challenges to the successful delivery of a service improvement project are also considered. The article concludes with an example of the use of the six-stage framework to improve the quality of urinary catheter care in one acute NHS trust.
authors.affiliation: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London. william.gage@imperial.nhs.uk
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gage
mesh_terms: D004496:Education, Continuing; D006801:Humans; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D013222:State Medicine; D006113:United Kingdom; D014546:Urinary Catheterization / Q000592:standards*