The complications of getting to the root causes of mental health safety issues are generally well-known: Is the issue due to staffing levels, staff vacancies, and the use of banks and agencies? Perhaps affected by the seniority and longevity of ward and team managers? Is it an issue of clinical…

The tool is based on a bespoke set of core indicators, carefully selected with significant input from senior operational and clinical mental health experts, to help concisely describe a particular situation relating to care at your Trust. The indicators are grouped into four domains reflecting different areas of care quality: 1. People — Staffing: …

More Dynamic, More Insightful, Less Costly Routes To Getting Big Answers There are increasing calls for the NHS to use more thematic review analytical approaches in understanding issues such as patient safety, clinical outcomes and patient feedback. The new Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) encourages organisations to undertake thematic review using inductive or deductive approaches: the SEIPS (Systems Engineering Initiative…

Imagine you run a boutique — a mix of fashionable clothes for fashionable people, and everyday clothes for more limited purses. Your shop window is dressed with mannequins and current offers, and there’s a large sign over the shop reading “Boutique”. One day, a customer comes in and asks for…

The first great wave of gains in public health arguably owed as much to plumbers as to any other profession. From the mid-19th century onwards, improvements in sanitation and access to clean water had a huge impact in reducing infectious diseases and improving both life expectancy and quality of life. …

Oxfam’s mission is: “to help create lasting solutions to the injustice of poverty.” Amnesty International’s mission is: “to undertake research and take action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of human rights.” The TED Foundation’s mission is simply: “spreading ideas” These are complicated organisations facing very complicated tasks —…

Understanding the Concept of a Benefit Corporation The concept of a Benefit Corporation — often simply referred to as a “BCorp” — goes beyond the traditional notion of enterprises being driven simply by profit. Whilst profits still matter, B Corps have a threefold mission — to make a positive impact…

The development of closed cultures in healthcare is not a new phenomenon. Closed cultures can occur in any industry, profession, or team because closed cultures are the product of several conditions that have been established. What is a closed culture? And why does it matter? The CQC somewhat vaguely define a closed culture as “a poor culture that can lead…

Context Niche were commissioned to produce a capacity and demand model, along with a baseline review, of the district nursing service of a large community and mental health Trust in North West England. The Trust provides district nursing services across a large geographical area, covering both rural and urban areas…