Tuesday, September 26, 2017

RECAP - AQuA Welcomes The King’s Fund’s Chris Ham for Place Based Care

The Advancing Quality Alliance (AQuA) were delighted to welcome Professor Chris Ham, Chief Executive of The King’s Fund, for an exciting masterclass exploring pace based health and care.

Chris addressed over 100 senior leaders from across health and social about the ten key design principles for successful place based care, and some of the challenges behind this at the event in Manchester; hosted alongside our partners NHS Mersey Internal Audit Agency (MIAA), NHS North West Leadership Academy (NHS NWLA), and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) North West.

Speaking after the event, Cathy Sloan, Head of System Transformation, said:
“It was fantastic to welcome Chris to Manchester for this masterclass. The King’s Fund have really led the way in the thinking behind place based care in the UK, and it was really good to hear about some of the key principles of how we can deliver these in practice.

“It was also inspiring to hear from our members in St Helens and at the Greater Manchester Health & Social Care Partnership, on how these systems have started to be implemented in their localities.  Sarah Bullock from St Helens Cares and Tim Griffith from Greater Manchester described the very different ways their systems are developing place based care.”

Watch back Chris’s presentation below.

Place based care is where local health and care providers, commissioners, local authorities and other organisations work together to establish coordinated systems and plan their services to address the healthcare needs of their local population.

If you missed the session, you can catch up on some of the key points from the day via our multimedia recap below.

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

AQuA Exhibiting Analytics Support at North West Informatics Conference

Two of our staff will be exhibiting our analytics work at this week’s Connect Conference in Blackpool, alongside a range of senior informatics colleagues from across the North West health and care sector.

Hosted by Intersystems and the NHS Skills Development Network, ‘Beyond the Boundaries’ takes place at the Hilton Hotel, Blackpool, on Thursday 21 – Friday 22 September.

Our Programme Director Nadine Boczkowski and Principle Business Intelligence Analyst Paul Hawgood will be showcasing our analytics and business intelligence work with our members from across the region.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Nadine said:

“We’re delighted to be attending Connect Conference and are looking forward to hearing about some of current priorities and to share supporting offers and services available to our members across the region.

“There are some fantastic speakers lined up over the two days, and we hope to see some really innovative analytical and technological developments and best practice.”

Sessions throughout the conference will explore a broad range of topics, including digital innovation, using informatics to improve performance and outcomes across health and care, and how to develop the necessary skills behind this now and in the future.

Nadine and Paul will be at Stand 21 in the reception exhibition area over the two days, and will also be taking part in sessions; with many of our member also delivering presentations throughout the conference.
You can follow Paul on Twitter @PaulHawgood, or for latest updates follow NHS Skills Development Network @ISDNorthWest

Monday, September 18, 2017

Could You Be Our Next Board Member?

The Advancing Quality Alliance (AQuA) is seeking expressions of interest to join our Board from senior leaders from organisations signed up to AQuA membership.

Our Board plays a vital role in helping to set our overall vision for our work with members and customers, and is made up of five Directors taken from our member organisations across the North West, as well as four external independent Directors.

We are looking to appoint one member Director to replace Dr. John Dean, who stood down earlier this year to take up a new national role.

AQuA Chief Executive David Fillingham said: 

“This is a fantastic opportunity for senior members to use their experience and insight to help shape our work, and ensure we continue to offer the best possible support to help our members address a range of challenges across health and care.

David Fillingham, AQuA Chief Executive
“John has been with us since for over six years, and during this time has made a massive contribution to our work. Whilst we’re sad to see him go, we wish him all the best in his new role with the Royal College of Physicians.”

In order to ensure we have a balance of experience and perspectives, we would particularly welcome applications from members with a medical background. However, all expressions will be considered.

Further information about our Board, including current members, is available on our websiteFull information about the role is available in the person specification.

To express your interest, please send a short CV and covering letter outlining why you wish to join our Board, and how you meet the requirements, to Carole.Maloney@srft.nhs.uk.

The deadline for expressions is Friday 13 October.

We would also welcome further discussions about this opportunity ahead of applications, which you can arrange with Carole via the above email, or by calling 0161 206 5187.