What will ImpAct cover?
Welcome to the first edition of ImpAct, a new publication from the Bandolier stable. While Bandolier concentrates on evidence around efficacy of treatment, ImpAct will be focusing on ways of raising standards and improving the delivery of services to patients. We want to concentrate on those things that make the NHS better.ImpAct is about ‘good practice' - and about implementing change and action to get there! Our aim will be to help people in the NHS who can make a difference, and to identify and report on:
♦ Ways of improving performance which have been successful and which are transferable. Reports will include ImpAct bottom lines to help readers pick up lessons from the work.
♦ People who have led successful local initiatives and who are keen for others to learn from their experience. Reports will provide contact details.
♦ Material developed locally that could be adapted for use elsewhere and thus cut local development time. Reports will identify material that is available.
What will ImpAct cover?
We aim to cover a full range of challenges facing clinicians and managers in the NHS - specifically those about:
⇒ clinical governance and questions about clinical quality, such as the application of National Service Frameworks
⇒ emergency pressures, demand, and waiting times
⇒ integration of services across institutional boundaries
⇒ primary care groups and questions about service delivery
⇒ involving patients and the public
⇒ developments in human resources like staffing and skill mix issues.
High standards will be set and we will be developing criteria to guide the choice of initiatives which we cover. This will allow readers to be confident that the work reported is worthy of attention. Factors to be taken into account will confirm that the approach:
√ both works, and that information to describe the benefits to patients and organisations is available
√ is transferable and not likely to be unique to the local situation
√ should be affordable within normal budgets - and not require significant pump-priming funds
Tell one, get one free!
In this first edition we have described some initiatives to illustrate the way that our reports will be presented. This is new territory, so if you have ideas about what information you want, or how you want it, let us know. Our links with the ‘NHS Learning Network' and the proposed NHS Learning Centres will help us identify initiatives that merit attention. Links with other relevant initiatives will also be created, such as the national R&D and IT programmes.
We want clinicians and managers in the NHS to use ImpAct to tell others about the good practice they have established - and how it was achieved. Many aspects of good practice evolve from determined efforts to tackle difficult local problems. We all face different problems - but why re-invent the wheel? It could be like shopping - not buy one, get one free - but tell one, get one free!
What you can do
If you have improved local services in ways that you would like to share with your NHS colleagues we want to hear from you. Don't worry about if you don't have the time to write up your work - or are not used to writing - we will help you.
In future editions there will be an ImpAct notice board - to allow readers to identify problems they are facing and where they can compare notes and experiences with others. We would also like you to tell us what is in your ‘too difficult' box. We will be developing these electronic pages as part of the Bandolier Internet site to complement the paper version of ImpAct.
Our supporters
ImpAct is supported by the NHS Executive to complement the NHS Learning Network. This major initiative is promoting the sharing and adoption of good practice across the NHS.
We are pleased that Dr Jennifer Dixon from the NHS Executive, Dr Naomi Fulop from the National R&D Service Development and Organisation programme and Dr Nicholas Hicks currently seconded from the NHS to the Department of Health will form our Editorial Board. Later in this issue Jennifer describes the plans for the NHS Learning Network. We will keep readers up to date as the initiative develops.
You can get in touch with us at the Bandolier office: Fax 01865 226978 or contact us by email.
Michael Dunning michaeldunning@hotmail.com
Andrew Moore andrew.moore@pru.ox.ac.uk
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