Swansea Bay University Health Board’s (Swansea Bay) Perinatal Directorate and the Cardiothoracic Directorate at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CAVUHB) have been selected to participate in a new programme of support to establish a Quality Management System (QMS).
The QMS Prototype Programme of Support, offered by NHS Wales Performance and Improvement (NHSP&I) in partnership with Q, a community collaboratively accelerating the improvement of health and care, and Quality Improvement Clinic (QIC), will support the teams to establish a structured approach to managing quality within their services.
Part of the Safe Care Partnership’s Duty of Quality Leaders workstream, the programme of support aims to help the selected teams to develop, implement and test QMS principles in their areas, with a key focus on drawing together approaches to quality planning, improvement, assurance, and control, to create learning systems that deliver safe, high-quality care.
Swansea Bay’s Perinatal Directorate provides care for around 3,500 births each year and includes a tertiary neonatal unit serving south Wales. The team has already begun its QMS journey, using the Developing a Quality Management System framework and methodology published by NHSP&I in February to strengthen assurance and improvement following an independent review and enhanced monitoring process.
The Cardiothoracic Directorate at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board delivers surgical and non-surgical care for patients with cardiovascular and thoracic conditions. Faced with challenges surrounding quality and patient experience, the team is using the programme of support as an opportunity to build a structured approach to managing quality, and to create a sustainable model for continuous improvement.
Dom Bird, Acting National Director for Quality, Safety and Improvement, NHS Wales Performance and Improvement, said: “Alongside our partners in Q and QIC, we are delighted to welcome the teams into this exciting new programme of support.
“In their applications, both teams presented compelling cases for how this offer of support can help them deliver safer, higher-quality care and demonstrated having the capacity and support they will require from within their organisations to make the most of this opportunity.
“We were impressed by the real passion shown by Swansea Bay’s Perinatal Directorate for improving quality within their service, with their QMS journey already underway, while Cardiff and Vale’s Cardiothoracic Directorate showed a clear recognition of the challenges they want to address by developing a QMS.
“There is real potential for us to collaboratively identify and share rich learning, that can support the establishment of an effective QMS in organisations throughout NHS Wales, and we’re really looking forward to supporting the Swansea Bay and Cardiff and Vale teams on their journey.”
Nicola Davey, Director of Quality Improvement Clinic and Libby Keck, Head of Design and Collaboration/ Labs Network, Q, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with NHS Wales Performance and Improvement on the QMS Prototype Programme of Support. This programme offers a valuable opportunity to work alongside frontline teams as they develop practical, sustainable approaches to managing and improving quality. We are really looking forward to supporting the Swansea Bay and Cardiff and Vale teams, learning with them as their journeys unfold, and sharing insights that can benefit health and care services across Wales.”
The programme of support will run until June 2027 and will include workshops, coaching, and peer learning.
Each team’s progress and learning will be documented on the NHS Wales Performance and Improvement website, contributing to the wider ambition of embedding QMS principles throughout health and care services.
For more information about QMS in NHS Wales, including a range of helpful resources, information and guidance, visit our QMS Hub.