The South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust recently welcomed members from the Health Improvement Alliance Europe at a landmark event held in the Ulster Hospital, organised by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
The shared learning quality improvement event brought together healthcare leaders from across Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland to explore and learn from some of the most innovative healthcare initiatives taking place across the region.
Those attending had the unique opportunity to witness first-hand the South Eastern Trust’s pioneering work, including the roll-out of the encompass programme, transformative advancements in prison healthcare and developments in children’s residential care. These initiatives highlight the Trust’s commitment to progressive and inclusive healthcare models aimed at improving quality and accessibility.
This event enabled members of the Health Improvement Alliance Europe to exchange ideas, share insights and inspire one another, showcasing the power of collaboration in overcoming shared challenges within European healthcare systems. By coming together in this forum, healthcare leaders engaged in dialogue around best practices and explored strategies to drive meaningful improvements in healthcare delivery. HSCQI also showcased learning from their regional collaborative programmes.
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Health Improvement Alliance Europe is a coalition of healthcare leaders committed to fostering change through innovation, collaboration and a dedication to achieving measurable health outcomes. This exclusive community is driven by continuous learning and a commitment to discovering best practices and new models, both within and outside of traditional healthcare frameworks. Its mission is to develop care delivery models tailored to European health systems, aiming for excellence in health outcomes at an affordable cost, especially in light of evolving demographics, the rise of chronic illnesses, and economic pressures.
Delighted to host the event, South Eastern Trust, Assistant Director in Quality Improvement, Dr Ruth Gray said, “It is a fabulous opportunity for the Trust to have people from across Canada and Europe attend the quality improvement event in the Ulster Hospital to share their ideas and to learn from us. The synergy we get is incredible when people come together who are curious, motivated and want to put quality care at the heart of what they do.
“It is such an opportunity to showcase the South Eastern Trust and learn from experts across Europe. We have shared our encompass journey and some of the real ambitions around the changes that encompass will make in respect of population health, health equity, patient safety and quality of care. We have also explored what change management and innovation looks like in a large complex organisation.
“We are looking at different options with various partners as to how we can innovate and support care delivery to enhance the health of our patients.
“The feedback from those attending has been really positive, remarking on the South Eastern Trust’s vision to create spaces for learning and sharing ideas, collaborating and creativity. We are all learning together, both regionally and with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, we really need to share expertise when looking at complex change, so creating the time and space to do this is so important.”
Senior Fellow Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Leadership Faculty, Professor Jason Leitch added, “It is a great privilege to be able to attend this event with so many countries attending giving us the opportunity to learn together. We discussed various areas including public health, the health of the population and digital healthcare, in particular the South Eastern Trust’s work with encompass, the new electronic health record system for patients. Northern Ireland has moved very quickly in this regard, and we now need Scotland to visit to learn from the successes of digital transformation here.
“We had the opportunity to visit healthcare in prison, children’s residential services and to look at a piece of work being carried out on waiting times, as we know that this is a major issue both in Scotland and in Northern Ireland. It was great to talk to so many inspiring staff and to see the innovative work being undertaken. This event has provided a real opportunity to learn from each other in terms of digital health in Northern Ireland and patient safety initiatives in Scotland. There is a long relationship between Health Trusts across Northern Ireland and Scotland and our challenges are similar, we have an ageing population and a large equality gap. The digital work that I have seen here in the South Eastern Trust along with the great work taking place regarding patient safety in Scotland is a fantastic opportunity to share the learning.”
Institute for Healthcare Improvement Europe, Vice-President, Pedro Delgado commented, “The Quality Improvement & Innovation Centre in the Ulster Hospital feels like a second home to me, I was here at the very start of my quality journey when I joined the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. We brought the European Improvement Advisor Programme to the Trust previously, so this is not the first time the South Eastern Trust has hosted a European event.
“To be at the forefront of quality and innovation bringing experts together for shared learning helps others to not only innovate within their areas, but right across Europe and Canada. We are excited to be here and grateful to the South Eastern Trust for hosting this event.”
Institute for Healthcare Improvement Europe, Senior Director, Susan Hannah remarked, “We are delighted to be in Northern Ireland with members of our Healthcare Improvement Alliance Europe. The Health Improvement Alliance Europe is set up to bring together health organisations from across Europe with approximately 32 members attending, 20 of which attended the event in the Ulster Hospital. The importance of meeting in different cities and different parts of Europe is that we provide a space for shared learning and what we are learning here in Northern Ireland, is the great work that has been done to advance digital in healthcare. There is no better place to learn from than the South Eastern Trust who are one year into their digital healthcare journey, so this is providing great learning for all our members across Europe. There is also great shared learning around what others are doing and working on, providing insights and experiences from a diverse group of improvers and innovators.”