Psychological therapies and interventions - national implementation guide 2: delivery improvement tools

How to improve service delivery with the use of relevant self-assessment and Quality Improvement tools

This guide has been developed to encourage the use of improvement tools and approaches to enhance the delivery of psychology services and treatments in Health and Social Care in Scotland.

The term ‘improvement’ is used in health and social care to refer broadly to any change which leads to an improvement in outcomes in comparison to those seen previously. The Psychological Therapies Matrix states: ‘Quality Improvement’ (QI) in healthcare refers to the systematic use of methods and tools to continuously improve the quality of care and outcomes for patients. QI, when linked to clear oversight and governance, can support patient safety, prevent harms and improve outcomes. Continuous service improvement should be at the heart of service delivery.

The National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions describes various outcomes and aspects of service delivery that are linked to improvement:

Outcome 1.14 Services will routinely use outcome measures and analyse these to help them know that they are offering quality treatments and interventions. This will help services to make improvements.

Outcome 4.5 There will be ongoing, quality improvement at the heart of offers of psychological practice. Listening to the voices of those accessing services, carers, and those delivering psychological practice, will be clear and meaningful to make sure that services continue to improve care for all.

Outcome 4.10 Ensure leadership of services creates a supportive, collaborative and improvement culture which empowers and enables the workforce to support the implementation of these standards.

Outcome 5.8 Work together with scrutiny bodies to provide assurance that standards are met and improvement to the quality of support, care and treatment are made where necessary.

Annex G – Service Delivery:

Quality Drivers: describes how evidence, implementation, outcomes, and quality improvement, with those with lived experience at the heart of planning, supports innovation and improved outcomes.

Management, Governance and Leadership: describes clear, accountable whole system leadership structures for oversight and strategic planning to support a culture of accountability and continuous improvement and supported by those with lived experience.

Quality Improvement is about giving the people closest to issues affecting care and quality, the time, permission, skills, and resources they need to solve them.

It involves a systematic and coordinated approach to solving a problem using specific methods and tools with the aim of bringing about a measurable improvement.