Creating a QI movement: how QI Week began

It’s Quality Improvement Week, and it’s the second QI week that we’ve run, so I thought it would be useful to tell the story of how it came to be.

A couple of years ago, I started in my new role with Solent NHS Trust as supporting Quality Improvement.

I noticed that there were all these celebration days/​weeks for research, co-production, clinical audit, library services etc, but nothing for improvement.

Feeling slightly left out, I started to scope what was out there for QI. I did a bit of online searching, and went out to the X (formally known as Twitter) community to see if there was anything out there that we didn’t know about.

What I found was that there were a handful of organisations that were hosting their own improvement celebrations but nothing that joined up. That needed to change!

In 2023 I decided to host our own QI week and had to pick a time. With the current challenges within the NHS, no time was a good time, so we decided the second week of September works well. It leads into Patient Safety Week, within which quality improvement is critical.

Not content with the fact it was going to be Solent only, I reached out to my colleagues within the Wessex region and our Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). We soon had a regional event planned and the first week went ahead on the 11 – 15 September 2023.

This was a success and it was amazing to connect with colleagues and see so much great work.

In the end we had engagement from various trusts, both nationally and internationally.

This initiative has had much bigger consequences than just the week – for us as a region, QI Week has built and fostered relationships that have enabled much more partnership working and collaboration.

We now meet regularly as a network and are working in partnership with our ICB to set the direction of what we can achieve together, building upon our QI cultures.

As soon as QI Week 2023 was over, I put the date in for 2024 and started planning with colleagues.

Given the engagement at this first try, I thought ​‘why not try and extend the reach..?’ Being shameless, I hijacked an email that went out via the national QI communications forum and asked if anyone was interested. I was overwhelmed by the response and capitalised on the momentum by quickly arranging a meeting to discuss this further.

I also set up a group on Q to engage other members.

The theme for QI Week 2024 is QI is for Everyone. This theme emphasises inclusivity and highlights the connection to the NHS Impact Framework and its Five Components, ensuring that everyone plays a role in driving meaningful improvements.

Including my regional colleagues, we now have over 50 organisations on board, and the support of our National Clinical Director, Dr Amar Shah, MBE, who’s giving the keynote speech on Friday.

I couldn’t be happier, my vision is coming to fruition and can’t wait to see how this week pans out.

If you’d like to join in and/​or help design the events in future, then get in touch via our website and look out for the hashtag, #QIWeek2024.