title: The case for quality improvement in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
abstract: Quality improvement (QI) is now a central part of the work of clinicians throughout healthcare. It is based on clear scientific principles, a valid way of measuring change and has theories of reliability and human factors that underpin the interventions. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a highly complex adaptive system that lends itself to the application of QI principles. This will require the development of a safety culture that continually seeks to improve. Clinicians and all those who work in NICU will require training in the methodologies of QI and patient safety to effect change. Working together in collaborative networks can accelerate change. In this paper we discuss some of the key concepts and provide some examples of improvement in the NICU.
authors.affiliation: Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom. Electronic address: peter.lachman@gosh.nhs.uk.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lachman
authors.affiliation: Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom. Electronic address: anitas184@googlemail.com.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jayadev
authors.affiliation: University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Electronic address: manveer_rahi@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Manveer
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rahi
mesh_terms: D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal / Q000592:standards*; D058996:Quality Improvement
keywords: Care bundles; Person centred; Quality; Reliability; Safety