Q in numbers

We are a community of thousands of people across the UK and Ireland, collaborating to improve the safety and quality of health and care. Here we share more information about who is in Q, where they are and where they work.

The Q community has grown significantly since we began in 2015. From 231 founding members, we reached 5,455 members by the end of 2023.

We grew rapidly between 2017 and 2020 as we focused on recruiting new members. Since 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic our growth has slowed. We think that this is because of pressures in the system and shifting away from recruitment to supporting members. However, with a renewed focus on recruitment, we expect to have 10,000 members by March 2030.

Geography

The charts below show where members are across regions, and how this has changed over time.

Organisations

Q members come from a wide range of organisations across the UK and Ireland. However, just over half – over 2,500 members – are based at NHS Trusts.

Profession

Q members have a range of backgrounds and roles in their organisations. For example, 45% percent of all Q members have a clinical background, although only 29% are currently in clinical roles.

Please note that we offer applicants categories that aren’t entirely exclusive. This sometimes means members need to choose between several possible professional categories.

Job roles

Over 2,500 members are either in management roles, or roles dedicated to Quality Improvement. Many Q members are also clinicians. Specifically, we have over 1,100 members who are nurses and doctors. Many members used the ‘other’ category to describe their work, which we think shows the diversity across Q. Members within this could range from patient and service user representatives to individuals whose experience spans multiple role types.

Sectors

Nearly a third of Q members work across both health and social care. However, data from our 2021 member survey shows that only 1% of members work exclusively on social care. This is an area we would like to grow in the future.

Equalities Data

We want the Q community to fully represent the diversity of the UK and Ireland, including the diversity across the health and care workforces. At application, members are asked several questions about their personal characteristics. This helps us understand who is in Q and how the membership compares to the population of the UK and Ireland.

We know there are areas for improvement. In the Q team, we have made commitments to change that embed the consideration of equity, diversity and inclusion in our work. We’re focused on creating a strong, vibrant community, creating conditions where diverse experiences are represented, and creating an inclusive culture where everyone is valued, respected, and empowered.

We want to continue to support and grow the diversity of the community and will be sharing more over the coming months.