Service and Quality Improvement

The core focus of clinicians, practitioners, managers and organisations is how best to improve the support that they provide to patents and their communities.

Over recent years it has been recognised that in addition to delivering better outcomes, health and care services must also address the other ‘triple aims’ of increasing health equality and ensuring that resources are used efficiently.

There is now considerable evidence and theory regarding service improvement and the translating knowledge about what works from research into practice. Despite this accumulated wisdom, health and case services can struggle to successfully introduce and sustain improvements in the longer term.  Working across professional, service and organisational boundaries is a particular challenge.

The difficulties are many – competing priorities, unreceptive cultures, lack of resources, insufficient improvement skills and fragmented thinking. So too though are the solutions, and with careful planning, design and delivery it is possible to achieve benefits for the long-term.

Contact: Dr Robin Miller or Dr Ross Millar 

Our research

Recent and current projects include:

  • Pancreatic cancer - optimising the patient pathway - the IMPROVE collaborative
    - Service evaluation of a surgical fast-track pathway for pancreatic cancer patients
  • Evaluation of the implementation and role of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians in NHS trusts in England, (HSDR 2018-2021)
  • Efficiency and quality of mental health trusts in England (Health Foundation, 2017-2021)
  • Publication and related bias in health services and delivery research (HSDR): Systematic review of literature, evaluation of empirical evidence and methodology and key informant interviews (2017-2019)
  • Chronic disease (integrated and holistic care)
  • Evaluation of a programme to support the implementation of Human Factors and Ergonomics in General Practice - the TeamSTEPPS model
  • Critical appraisal of Pacesetters Programme in Wales
  • Evaluation of the Connected Care Vanguard (in process): Scoping and early findings report
  • Evaluation of Human Factors Interventions in General Practice Schemes 
  • Evaluation of Compassion Recognition Scheme.
  • Time to Care and Set to Care 
  • “Yellow hats are not just for builders” 
  • Teams and incentives: An evaluation of new models of care in Dudley 
  • Integrated Care and Support Pioneers Programme Evaluation 
  • Partnering for Improvement  
  • Hospital Boards and Health Care Quality Project  
  • Managing change in social care 

Members of the service and quality improvement theme

Dr Kerry Allen

Dr Kerry Allen

Associate Professor
Head of Education, School of Social Policy

Dr Kerry Allen is an Associate Professor at the Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham. With a disciplinary background in medical sociology, she is interested in applied research that improves health and care services, especially for people with complex needs or long term conditions. 

Her core research areas are: 

  • How people experience long-term conditions, ...

Dr Jo Ellins

Dr Jo Ellins

Senior Fellow

Dr Jo Ellins is a Senior Fellow at the Health Services Management Centre and Deputy Director of the BRACE Rapid Evaluation Centre. She has over 15 years’ experience of leading applied health services research and evaluation for organisations across the public and charitable sectors. Jo’s main interests are around patients’ experiences and person-centred care, alongside which she ...

Dr Amarpreet Kaur

Dr Amarpreet Kaur

Lecturer in Health Technology and Governance

Amarpreet joined the HSMC in September 2021 as a new Lecturer. She will be contributing the Centre’s expanding interests in health technologies and genomics through her research and teaching. Amarpreet is passionate about Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion activity, and Widening Participation in Higher Education.

Prior to her appointment, Amarpreet was a member of the Sociology of ...

Professor Russell Mannion

Professor Russell Mannion

Professor of Health Systems
Co-director, MSc Health Policy and Management

 Russell has held the Chair in Health Systems at the University of Birmingham since 2010.  He is an Honorary Professor at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney. He was previously Director of the Centre for Health Services Management at the University of York (2005-2009) and served as a Board Director of the York Health Economics ...

Dr Ross Millar

Dr Ross Millar

Director and Reader in Health Organisation

Ross is the Director of HSMC and a Reader in Health Organisation.

 He is a passionate about better understanding the experience of health and care organisations with the view to supporting their development. Ross has a research and education background in the study of quality and safety and the forging of partnerships and collaboration.

Professor Judith Smith

Professor Judith Smith

Professor of Health Policy and Management

Judith Smith is Professor of Health Policy and Management. She is Director of the BRACE Rapid Evaluation Centrefunded by the National Institute for Health Research for five years (2018-2023) and involving the University of Birmingham, University of Cambridge, RAND Europe, and National Voices. From 2015 until January 2022, Judith was Director of the Health Services Management ...

Iain Snelling

Iain Snelling

Senior Fellow

Iain specialises in teaching, consultancy and research in management and leadership development in the NHS, service evaluation and improvement, clinical engagement in management and leadership. From 2011 – 2013 he was co-Director of the educational element of the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme and the NHS Clinical Leadership Fellows programme, and from 2012-2015 he was ...

 

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