• Clinical Quality Table
• Quality Improvement Enabling Framework
• Experience Based Design
• Quality Symposium
• Quality Awards
• Resources

Quality Improvement is a catalyst for change needed to achieve quality care, improved health, and better value. Building a culture of quality improvement, developing capacity, and embedding structured improvement methods into change initiatives has been and continues to be an implementation priority for the South West LHIN and health service providers. Creating a culture that is relentless in its pursuit of quality improvement requires continuous and sustained involvement from all stakeholders, particularly those who use health care services, to develop a shared understanding of the opportunities to improve the experience of care, implement the required changes, study the results and make refinements. These changes often include changing behaviour patterns and how systems operate.

 

PLAN OF ACTION

• Work alongside health service providers to consistently embed patient engagement approaches (e.g.Experience Based Design) to advance quality improvement.
• Work with health service providers to develop a coordinated approach to engage people who receive services and determine experience of care measures.
• Provide leadership in establishing shared quality improvement strategies through Quality Improvement Plans across and within sectors to advance key priorities.
• Engage a Quality Improvement community of practice to continue to build a culture of continuous quality improvement and broadly share quality evidence.
• Work alongside health service providers to implement best practices (e.g. Quality Based Procedures, Adult Day Program Redesign) and reduce variation within and among organizations to improve outcomes and value for money.
• Encourage health service providers to embed quality improvement within their organizations through processes such as accreditation and use tools such as the Quality Improvement Enabling Framework.
• Work with health service providers to advance quality outcomes for identified priorities and initiatives.
• Continue to integrate and standardize improvement tools and templates into the LHIN’s project management approach.
• Work alongside health service providers to leverage provincial quality improvement learning opportunities (e.g. IDEAS program--Improving and Driving Excellence across Sectors) by implementing an approach and roadmap to identify improvement projects.
• Continue to acknowledge and stimulate quality improvement efforts through the LHIN’s annual quality symposium and awards.

Clinical Quality Table

The Clinical Quality Table (CQT) represents a partnership between the South West LHIN and Health Quality Ontario (HQO) and provides a mechanism to advance the foundations for clinical quality improvement in support of the South West LHIN Integrated Health Service Plan and initiatives of HQO. The CQT will serve as an important mechanism for clinical leadership to achieve progress and momentum on quality.

Terms of Reference, Clinical Quality Table

Membership

Name	Group Representation	Organization
Dr. Amit Shah	Emergency Department Lead	South West LHIN
Andrea McInerney	Manager, Quality Improvement	South West LHIN
Dr. Anita Singh	Palliative Care Physician	LHSC
Carol Moore	Quality Improvement Specialist	Health Quality Ontario
Dr. Cathy Faulds (co-chair)	Chief Clinical Lead	South West LHIN, Clinical Leadership
Dr. Janice Owen	Cancer Care Ontario Clinical Lead	Cancer Care Ontario, SWRCP
Dr. Gord Schacter	London Middlesex Clinical Lead	South West LHIN
Dr. Ian Ball	Critical Care Lead	South West LHIN
Jackie Schleifer Taylor	VP, Chief Quality Officer	LHSC
Dr. Jitin Sondhi	Oxford Clinical Lead	South West LHIN
Dr. Keith Dyke	Grey Bruce Clinical Lead	South West LHIN
Dr. Kellie Scott	Huron Perth Clinical Lead	South West LHIN
Lisa Penner	Program Lead, Hospice Palliative Care	South West LHIN
Dr. Louise Moist	Internal Medicine Physician Lead	South West LHIN
Mark Brintnell	VP, Quality, Performance and Accountability	South West LHIN
Nicole Robinson	Director, Performance	South West LHIN
Dr. Paul Gill	Huron Perth Clinical Lead	South West LHIN
Rachel Labonte	Program Lead, Partnering for Quality	South West LHIN
Dr. Scott McKay	Site Chief of Family Medicine	Schulich Medicine
Sheri Nolan	Executive Assistant	South West LHIN
Steven Carswell (co-chair)	Director, Quality	South West LHIN
Sue Tobin	Nurse Practioner and Clinical Director	Ingersoll Nurse Practioner Led Clinic
TBD Representative	Public Health	Public Health

Quality Improvement Enabling Framework

Developed by the Quality Advisory Group, the Framework was developed to guide the South West LHIN quality improvement activities. It provides a foundation for the work of the advisory group. The framework has been successfully applied at the health service provider level as a way to develop more effective and better aligned initiatives as part of their organization’s ongoing quality improvement efforts.

• How to apply the Framework to your project (Audio Presentation)
  • Presentation PDF       
• Quality Improvement Enabling Framework
• Watch a presentation on the Framework from the 2012 Quality Symposium.

Experience Based Design

Working alongside LHIN residents to find solutions to improve care experiences creates a collective ownership and commitment to continuous improvement. When health service providers learn about care experiences and preferences directly from those people receiving the services, they get the necessary insights to work together to make improvements that matter most to those receiving care. 

 

Experience Based Design uses experience to gain insights from which you can identify and co-design opportunities for improvement. It is about understanding the emotional journey in our healthcare system and designing an improved healthcare experience. It incorporates the patient voice into health system design by observing and involving patients/clients in the process and asking how they want to be cared for. 

 

Experience Based Design Workshop and resources
 

Quality Symposium

The Quality Symposium is an annual event that brings together 300-400 health service providers, governors and partners for a day of education and inspiration around quality improvement best practices. This event is accessible and free of charge.

Quality Awards

The Quality Awards recognize organizations that have implemented a sustainable quality improvement initiative by working together to achieve performance excellence.