Continuous quality improvement in acute health care: creating a holistic and integrated approach

Reviews the range of quality activity in a National Health Service hospital trust, using a staff questionnaire survey, self-assessment against the Baldrige Quality Award criteria, and the application of the SERVQUAL approach to service quality assessment. Reviews the acute health care quality programme literature. Finds that there are needs for greater integration of quality effort, to engage with patients in a more meaningful manner, and to achieve greater commitment and involvement from clinicians and managers. Identifies lack of time and resources as a major barrier to greater application of quality programmes. Explores ways of developing a more holistic and integrated programme of quality improvement. Describes the creation and implementation of a model for continuous improvement in health care quality.