Transforming care at the bedside

Health Foundation quality improvement fellow, Annette Bartley has been asked by the Welsh Assembly to pilot a programme to transform bedside care based on her fellowship research in the United States.

She has shown that patient safety is dramatically improved by increasing the time nurses can spend at their bedside.

The Health Foundation's quality improvement fellowships aim to equip senior NHS clinicians with the tools and techniques of quality improvement. The Health Foundation supports fellows through a year working with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge , Massachusetts .

Ms Bartley, who is about to finish her year in the US, has worked on a project to develop one or more models of bedside care that make care safer and more personalised for patients as well as more efficient and effective for staff. Successful projects show that more time spent with patients significantly reduced harm.

She particularly noted that: 'Adverse events have been reduced, cardiac arrest rates have plummeted, some units have gone without any patient falls for nearly a year, and patient and staff satisfaction is continually improving.'

Summing up the value of the fellowship Ms Bartley said: 'The Fellowship was broader than just this project because it gave me an opportunity to visit another country and understand the complexities of different healthcare systems. It made me really appreciate the value of the NHS.'

The application process for the 2008-09, Health Foundation Quality Improvement Fellowship Programme is now open. 

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