240 healthcare professionals attend the first Wessex Quality and Improvement Conference

The inaugural Wessex Quality and Improvement Conference recently took place and attracted nearly 240 healthcare professionals from across Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and the Isle of Wight.

Health Education England, Wessex (HEE WES) and the Patient Safety team from Wessex Academic Health Science Network (Wessex AHSN) hosted this joint event at the Grand Harbour Hotel, Southampton on 15 June.

The conference was a key part of the new Community of Safety and Improvement Practice (CSIP) which brings together NHS staff – and partners – from all over the Hampshire, Dorset, south Wiltshire and Isle of Wight areas to focus  on patient safety and how healthcare professionals can connect, share and learn to improve patient outcomes. A second conference is planned for 2017.

The day included a series of energising sessions and motivational case studies nationally and from across the Wessex region that showcased excellence in patient safety and improvement. Plenary highlights included:

• Clare Bowen opened the conference with a powerful and reflective conversation about what has changed in patient safety in recent years based on her experience as a parent bereaved by medical harm
  
  
• Dr Suzette Woodward (National Campaign Director, Sign up to Safety) provided uplifting commentary on the impact of outcomes from the patient safety work taking place across Wessex
  
  
• Dr Bill Kirkup, CBE (Chairman of the Morecambe Bay investigation) looked at the application of lessons learned in the Morecombe Bay investigation 
  
  
• Helen Vernon (Chief Executive, NHS Litigation Authority) joined a keynote panel looking at challenges and priorities in improvement and patient safety
  
  
• Peter Walsh (Chief Executive, Action Against Medical Accidents) provided his thoughts on transparency and candour, and the establishment of the new Health Service Investigation Branch
  
  
• Dr Kate Pryde (Consultant Paediatrician, University Hospital Southampton NHS FT) examined transferable lessons in improvement and provided some Wessex exemplars
  
  
• Sue Mellor (Head of Patient Services and Voluntary Services Manager, Royal Bournemouth & Christchurch Hospitals NHS FT) and Alan Mercel-Sanca (an LGB&T educationalist) looked at the principles for co-design and working in partnership with patients
  
  

Professor Jane Reid, Wessex AHSN’s clinical lead for patient safety, said: “This event was an amazing celebration of safety improvement work across Wessex: showcasing, individual, team, organisational, regional and network effort to advance the quality, safety and care of patients and their families.

“The energy and ambition of all who participated in this conference is a tribute to the hallmarks of quality and safety that the NHS stands for and is about.

“There was so much to be proud of - just to be there and be associated with – and most importantly, to hear from amazing colleagues with energy and drive to share and learn.

“Our public and the Wessex community have much to be grateful of - for the committed efforts of so many fantastic frontline clinical staff.”

Dr Fleur Kitsell, Health Dean, HEE WES, said: “This was a wonderfully uplifting day. It’s  the first in a series of events for our new CSIP community where we can share resources, ideas and good practice, learning from each other as we strive to continuously improve our work.”