ABSTRACT
The magic was there all along–the community had the elements it needed but it took powerful leadership and a central vision to enable them to work collectively. As part of our work, we invited in the Department of Health expert Professor Brian Duerden to review all aspects of our infection control work and to help us draw up our microbial policy. Using information for improvement was seen as central from the start and the key performance metrics, which include quality, efficiency and productivity measures, are all presented as statistical process control charts. Surviving the most significant and sustained period of financial constraint in National Health Service (NHS) history while retaining the quality has been called ‘the biggest challenge facing the NHS’ by its then chief executive, Sir David Nicholson, in 2009. University College London NHS Foundation Trust began its work on meeting the quality and efficiency challenge in January 2010.
