Embedding a Culture and System for Continuous Improvement: A Practical Guide

Following the publication of the Delivery and Continuous Improvement Review by NHS England, we have developed a practical guide to help you to achieve the recommendations by embedding a culture and system of continuous improvement.

Aimed at board members, senior leaders and improvement leaders, this guide is based on years of improvement experience and provides a tried and tested approach to successfully developing and sustaining systems for continuous improvement.

The guide outlines four key components as to how you can embed a culture and system of continuous quality improvement:

1. Shared Vision and Purpose

A Shared Vision and Purpose is key factor to consider when starting out on your continuous improvement journey. The Board should set this ambition, providing direction and allocating resources, and all people across the organisation will then align their work to this shared purpose .

2. Culture and Leadership Behaviours

Evidence shows that the following consistent leadership behaviours at all levels will help develop and role model the organisational culture for continuous improvement. The single most important reason why attempts to build an improvement system succeed or fail is how leaders behave.

3. Building Improvement Capability and Capacity

Improvement capability is a vital component of a culture of continuous improvement.  It should involve all people working in the organisation as well as local people as lived experience and citizen improvement partners.

4. Embedding Improvement into Management Systems

To embed a system and culture of improvement, it’s important that you make improvement part of your management system. This is more than training and improvement projects, it is how you achieve your business objectives with a bottom-up drive to improve every day. Research shows there are two key areas to achieve this: strategy deployment and making improvement a daily activity.

How can Aqua help you?

When you work with us, you have access to our expert team with decades of quality improvement experience.

Since 2010 we have worked with organisations to explore ways to successfully develop and sustain systems for continuous improvement. We are well placed to help you align your organisation to the recommendations outlined in the Delivery and Continuous Improvement Review, as our extensive track record of supporting organisations and systems shows.

Read the full Practical Guide for Embedding a Culture and System of Continuous Improvement.

Get in touch to see how we can support your continuous improvement journey: enquiries@aqua.nhs.uk.