SEP22MISSION and my Quality Improvement Journey: Ellie Lanning

In the last three years I have progressed from a passionate, instinctive, advocate of grass roots healthcare improvement to someone who has avidly sought experience of, and information on, the science of healthcare improvement.  I am a Respiratory and General Medical Registrar training in the Wessex Deanery.  Whilst working as a front-line doctor, I experienced many changes imposed on our working methods, and frequently asked myself, “What is the evidence for this?”  So I decided to take time out of my training to learn how to answer this question, and applied to work in the Department of Research and Innovation at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, and to undertake a Quality Improvement Fellowship through Health Education England – Wessex.

At PHT I was the lead fellow on MISSION COPD project.  This project was my first participation in a large scale QI pilot. It presented challenges, opportunities and joys aplenty, but mostly has equipped me with the tools to engage in wider improvement work at Queen Alexandra Hospital, including educating future improvers amongst our junior medical staff.

The QI fellowship, running in parallel to the project, allowed time for reflection on its challenges and rewards, and a series of master classes and action learning sets taught me multiple aspects of quality improvement methodology which I was able to use in the delivery of MISSION COPD.  However, the biggest impact the fellowship had on me was a change in mindset.  It taught me to question, to reflect, to see possibilities rather than challenges, and to promote engagement of the patients and front-line staff to improve the way we work together in delivering healthcare. The QI fellowship introduced me to colleagues around Wessex with whom I have been able to share stories, resources and inspiration. We continue to share our improvement stories, and three of us have recently joined the Health Foundation’s national Q network.