NHS staff help drive improvements in patient safety

King's PSSQ is a joint initiative between King’s College London and King’s College Hospital.  It brings NHS professionals together with academic experts from a wide range of backgrounds, including management and the social sciences, to investigate ways to improve patient care. The Centre is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Juliet Higginson, Assistant Clinical Governance and Audit Manager at King’s, and Carol Bell, Clinical Effectiveness Co-ordinator, have joined full-time for one year. Joanne Fielding, Child Health Services Manager, is onboard for six months, and midwife Natasha Folkes will work part time for a year. All will take the title of ‘Visiting Research Associate’.

Naomi Fulop, Professor of Health and Health Policy and Director, King’s PSSQ, comments; ‘We are delighted to welcome Joanne, Natasha, Juliet and Carol. Their hands-on experience will be invaluable in helping us to develop solutions that really work, and they will learn a host of new research skills along the way.

‘One of the Centre’s objectives is to build capacity in research related to patient safety and service quality by giving NHS staff the chance to get involved.  These posts are the first step and an excellent example of King’s College Hospital and King’s College London working together to create systems to minimise risks to patients and ensure the best possible care.’

Joanne Fielding, King’s PSSQ Visiting Research Associate adds; ‘High quality service is a key priority at King’s. This is a fantastic opportunity to use my managerial experience in groundbreaking research that will have a positive impact on staff and patients alike. We will work closely with researchers to help to bridge the gap between academic and NHS staff, developing practical solutions that will bring lasting improvements.’

The combined research teams will study current safety and service practices in the health care sector, from individual experiences of care to the organisation of particular services and implementation of Government policy. They will also draw upon knowledge and best practice from other industries. 

The secondees will work across four research streams, investigating how new technologies can be safely introduced and managed (‘Innovations’); what systems organisations use to ensure the provision of safe, high quality care (‘Organisational Governance’); how different health care professions handle risk (‘Risk’); and how staff are supported (‘Workforce’).   

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Photography available – For images and further information contact Alex Gaskell, Communications Manager, King's Patient Safety & Service Quality Research Centre. Tel: 020 3299 7552 / 07740 456 432, or e-mail: alex.gaskell@kcl.ac.uk                          www.kingspssq.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• King's Patient Safety & Service Quality Research Centre is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The Centre brings together NHS professionals with academic experts from a wide range of backgrounds, including management and the social sciences, to focus on investigating ways to improve the care of patients.
• The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility. The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training. Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients.
• King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching hospitals, with over 6,000 staff providing around 700,000 patient contacts a year.  King’s has a unique profile, with a full range of local hospital services for people in the London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark as well as specialist services to patients from further afield.  The Trust is recognized internationally for its work in liver disease and transplantation, neurosciences, cardiac and haemato-oncology.  King’s also plays a key role in the training and education of medical, nursing and dental students with its academic partner, King’s College London.  For more information, visit www.kch.nhs.uk .
• King’s College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher Education 2008) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King’s has 19,700 students from more than 150 countries, and 5,400 employees. King’s has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 60 per cent of research activity at King’s was deemed world-leading or internationally excellent. The College is in the top group of UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of approximately £450 million. An investment of £500 million has been made in the redevelopment of its estate.
  King’s has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, social sciences, the health sciences, natural sciences and engineering, and has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to more Medical Research Council Centres than any other university.
• King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are working together to create a world-leading Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC). Our AHSC brings together an unrivalled range and depth of clinical and research expertise, spanning both physical and mental health. Our combined strengths will drive improvements in care for patients, allowing them to benefit from breakthroughs in medical science and receive leading edge treatment at the earliest possible opportunity. For more information, visit www.londonsahsc.org