Managing Quality in Health and Social Care

This essay examines the importance of quality management in healthcare, focusing on the Royal United Hospital NHS Trust. It analyzes stakeholder perspectives, the impact of poor service quality, and the role of external agencies in setting standards. The essay also explores barriers to quality delivery, various approaches to implementing quality systems, and methods for assessing quality. It concludes by suggesting criteria for improving quality in the hospital. Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students.

Managing Quality in Health in
Health and Social Care

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Part 1................................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Stakeholders perspectives regarding quality.........................................................................1
1.2 Impact of poor service quality on stakeholders.....................................................................2
1.3 Analyse the role of external agencies in setting standards at the Royal United hospital......3
2.1 Possible barriers to delivery of quality services....................................................................3
2.2 Various approaches to implement quality systems...............................................................4
2.3 The standards that exists for measuring quality at the Royal United hospital......................6
Part 2................................................................................................................................................7
4.1 Evaluate methods for assess the quality................................................................................7
4.2 Impact that involve users of services in the evaluation process............................................7
3.1 Analyse the other factors that influence the achievement of quality....................................8
3.2 Evaluate the effectiveness of system, policies and procedure used in achieving quality in
the services..................................................................................................................................8
3.3 Suggest criteria in which quality could improve...................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
In health and social care organisation, quality of services and facilities is one of the
important concern that should focus by management. Effective management of quality is a
systematic procedure by which health care professional and management collectively engage
with practices of improvement in quality of heath care services. In the hospital, health care
profession have responsibility to deliver effective care services to patient through which they can
improve their health issues (Dabholkar, 2015). In the present study, significance of quality
services in health and care organisation has been discussed. Furthermore, role of external
agencies in setting standards at the royal united hospital has been also studied. It is NHS trust
that provides acute treatment and care for catchment population of around 500000 people. The
effectiveness of system, policies and procedure that is used in achieving the quality in health care
service has been also addressed in this report.
Part 1
1.1 Stakeholders perspectives regarding quality
As per the given case scenario, the royal united hospital Bath NHS trust delivers effective
care and treatment services to more than 500000 people in the bath, towns and villages in North
East Somerset and Western Wiltshire. The main aim of this organisation is to provide high
quality of services and facilities to patient in the local communities.
In order to achieve goal in Hospital, management have to make satisfy stakeholder
because they have great role in managing quality of care services. Stakeholders are those persons
who have interest in the activities, function and decision of health and care organisation (Dhar,
2015). They affected by decisions that taken by hospital regarding practices and services. When
management of hospital takes any decision then involvement of stakeholder is important because
they are directly and indirectly affected by decision. Following are various stakeholders in The
Royal united hospital NHS- Government- Government imposed some practices, regulation and policies regarding
care services and treatment that have to followed by royal united hospital. With help of
these practices and policies, hospital can able to deliver effective treatment to patient and
improve care services (Brauner and et.al., 2016). Customers- Patients are customer of health and care organisation who required to get
treatment through which their health issues can improve. This stakeholder has ethical
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responsibility toward their own health and corporation development. If management
makes any changes in the policies, practices and methods then it directly affects customer
health and treatment. Employees- Social workers, health care professionals, doctors, supportive staff are
employees in the Royal united hospital. If management makes changes in organisation
policies, working practices, systems then employees get affected. They required effective
salary, working condition, incentives etc. For improve productivity and quality of
services, management should meet employees expectations and make them satisfy.
 Suppliers- This stakeholder also plays a very crucial role in the Royal united hospital
who delivers semi finished goods, raw material etc to hospital (Krabbenborg and et.al.,
2017 ). The decision taken by management of The Royal united hospital can affect the
suppliers so management should consider their involvement at the time of design
practices and policies.
1.2 Impact of poor service quality on stakeholders
As pert the recent inspection from the care quality commission it has been found that The
Royal united hospital NHS does not focus on quality of services and treatment. Care quality
commission gave formal warning to make improvement in the quality of service and keep patient
safe and protect from the risk of unsafe treatment. The senior staff told to management for
effective monitoring of fluid balance and hydration record and Care quality commission has
asked to send complete record and report along with date and time regarding services and action.
Now, Royal United Hospital is going to take various actions for improve services and treatment
quality. Furthermore, it will design management policies for improve quality and test a new
hydration record chart (Benavides-Velasco, Quintana-García and Marchante-Lara 2014). Thus,
improve the quality of care services and meet expectation of Care quality commission, The royal
united hospital NHS trust have to focus on several measures, methods and strategies that will
support for address objective.
In the Royal united hospital, poor quality of services affect the entire system, success and
objective of hospital. Poor quality of heath care services also affect stakeholders such as
government, customers, employees, investors, suppliers etc. Poor services includes lack of
effective care services, lack of punctuality, delay in treatment and operation, unavailability of
proper information, misbehaviour of health care professional with patient and their family
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members, etc. Customers requires high quality of care services through which they can improve
their health issues. If treatment and care services are poor then it can lead dissatisfaction among
patients. Poor services can increase the rate of disease among patient through which they can die
or may suffer from certain loss. Health care professionals and service providers can also
negatively influenced by poor quality of service. While organisation do not provide high quality
of care services then numbers of patient decrease. This will affect the profitability and growth of
the Royal united hospital. If organisation profitability is negatively influenced then it will affect
salary and income of employees.
1.3 Analyse the role of external agencies in setting standards at the Royal United hospital
In the United kingdom, there are various external agencies and bodies that have main aim
is to provide effective services and make it objective oriented. These agencies and bodies have
some standard and practices that have to followed by Royal United hospital through which
activities and functions can effectively operate (Liu and Whitt, 2017). There are various external
agencies and bodies that have helps to the Royal united hospital for improve its functions and
activities- General Medical council- General medical council have main aim is to promote health
and maintain health and safety of public. The general medical council have established by
the medical act 1858 in the UK as a statutory body. The official register of medical
practitioner maintains by the public body that is General medical council.
 Health and care professional council-Health professional council have main objective is
to protect the public by provide education and training programs to health and care
professionals so as they can learn the criteria of effective working and performance in the
health care organisation (Pitt and et.al., 2016). It maintains records and information
regarding health and care professional who have to follow the standard practices. It has
key function is to make registration of health professionals and service provider who
have to meet standards regarding training.
2.1 Possible barriers to delivery of quality services
As per the report of care quality commission, Royal united hospital quality is decreased.
Care quality commission gave formal warning to make improvement in the quality of service and
keep patient safe and protect from the risk of unsafe treatment. The senior staff told to
management for effective monitoring of fluid balance and hydration record. Now Royal united
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hospital is going to focus on the quality of care services and make improvement in the existing
practices through which patient can get excellent facilities and treatment (Dudin and et.al, 2016).
Following are some barriers to deliver quality services within Royal united hospital- Lack of resources and equipments- For deliver high quality of care services and
treatments in the hospital, impressive resources and equipments are very necessary. There
are various kinds of machines and tools for handle different kinds of diseases among
patient like X-ray machine, CT scan, MRI machine etc. Treatment equipments includes
infusion pump, medical laser and LASIK surgical machines etc. In the absence of these
resources it may quite difficult for deliver effective care services and treatment to
patients. Lack of training program- Training and development is also very essential aspect for
deliver quality care services and treatment to patient in health and care organisation
(Song and Kang, 2016). If Royal united hospital do not organise effective training and
development program then it is major barrier for deliver effective quality services to
patient because with help of training health care professional can able to improve skill,
ability and criteria of working at workplace. A well trained professional and doctors can
deliver effective care services and treatment.
 Ineffective policies and practices- Ineffective policies and practices creates barriers in
deliver quality services and care within Royal united hospital. For deliver impressive care
services, it is very important to have effective policies and practices regarding operation,
treatment, medical report, time and schedule etc.
2.2 Various approaches to implement quality systems
The Royal united hospital is going to improve quality of care services and treatment
through which it can meet expectation of care quality commission. The main aim of this hospital
is to deliver effective care services so as patient can improve their health issues. For enhance the
quality of care services and treatment, various approaches can follow by Royal united hospital
which are discussed below-
 Total quality management- In this approach of quality system, all members of
corporation equally participates in improving quality of services and products. The main
aim of this approach is to improve quality of services in the hospital through which
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patient can get improve their heath issue and disease (Total quality management, 2018).
It describes a management approach to long term success through customer satisfaction.
By adopt this approach, company can continuously improve quality of products and
services and make customer happy and satisfy. Royal united hospital can improve quality
of patient treatment, care services and operation by eliminate the mistakes through which
patient can get effective satisfaction.
Six Sigma- Six sigma is another approach for quality improvement within organisation through
which variability and defects can minimise in manufacturing and operation of business. In this
method, organisation use a set of quality management method like empirical, statistical method
etc (Heginbotham, 2012.). In this management engage with continuous efforts to achieve stable
and predictable result. Royal united hospital can improve quality of care services and treatment
by implement this approach in operation and process.
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Illustration 1: Total quality management
Source: Total quality management, 2018

2.3 The standards that exists for measuring quality at the Royal United hospital
In the health and care organisation, for improve and deliver quality care services to
patient, quality standard plays a very crucial role. It is the part of broader framework in the
hospital that helps in raise the quality of heath care services. Various kinds of quality standard
have different purposes in the organisation. The Royal United hospital uses various kinds of
quality standard for measure quality services and care. These quality standard are discussed
below- Implementation of advanced technology- This is one of the quality standard that helps to
Royal United hospital in improve quality of care services and treatment. With help of
advanced technologies, equipment and resources, health care organisation can improve
customer service, quality of operation, procedure of customer care services etc. Mistakes
and defaults ca automatically decrease while organisation uses advanced technology
(Glasby, 2012). All document related work can manage and monitor with help of
technologies. There are several machines and equipment uses for different disease such
as X-ray machine, CT scan, MRI machine etc. Treatment equipments includes infusion
pump, medical laser and LASIK surgical machines etc. These all machines and
equipments helps in improve quality of care services and treatment. Training of staff members- The royal united hospital can adopt training and development
quality standard by which quality of care services can easily improve. When cited venture
organise training and development program then health care professional and service
provider can able to improve their knowledge, skill, ability, criteria of working within the
organisation (Emerson and et.al., 2012). This will help in improve quality of care services
and deliver effective patient satisfaction.
 24*7 hour customer care services- This is another one of the quality standard that should
follow and adopt by the Royal united hospital. This quality standard provides direction
and guidance to patient and their family member regarding services. With help of this
quality standard, customer can get right information regarding their treatment, operation,
medical report, schedule, time of operation etc.
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Part 2
4.1 Evaluate methods for assess the quality
In the health and care organisation, when management engage with high quality standard
and approaches then it is very important to measure and monitor the quality of services. By help
various methods, The Royal united hospital can measure and evaluate the quality of health and
care services- Follow Up survey- In this method, management of Royal united hospital design a
systematic questionnaire regarding services and care treatment of organisation and
conduct survey of patients. In this aspect, organisation can use E-mail survey or face to
face interaction survey (Earls and Myers, 2010). On the basis of collected information in
the survey, Royal united hospital can evaluate the effectiveness of quality services. Post service rating-In this practice, management ask customers to rate the service after it
is delivered to patient. Once the treatment and care services delivered to patient then they
post their rates according to their satisfaction level.
 Semi interview- In this method management of Royal united hospital can conduct
personal interaction with customer (patient) and their family members regarding the care
services and existing approaches of treatment.
4.2 Impact that involve users of services in the evaluation process
Patient are major important part of Royal united hospital so involvement of them in the
evaluation process is also very important. With help of collected information from patient,
organisation can easily assess and analyse its existing performance and quality of care services.
The involvement of service users helps in developing trust and loyalty. The performance of
health care professional and service provider can analyse and monitor with help of service users
involvement (Clark, 2011). On the basis of their reviews and feedback, corporation can assess
existing position and develop approaches for future development and improvement. Thus, it can
be said that service user's involvement in the evaluation process of Royal united hospital assists
in gathering accurate information regarding quality of care services, performance of employees,
working environment, effectiveness of existing practices and policies. On the basis of their
reviews and feedback, organisation can make necessary improvement.
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3.1 Analyse the other factors that influence the achievement of quality
In the Royal united hospital, for improve quality of care services, management have to focus on
the various factors that influence the achievement of quality. These factors are discussed below- Patient cooperation- Patient cooperation is equally important for achieve high quality of
care services and treatment. With help of patient cooperation, doctors can collect relevant
and right information about disease (Brand, 2012). In addition to this, patient is alos
responsible to take care of own health and follow instruction which give by doctor
regarding heath like take medicine etc. Resources and facilities- For achieve high quality of care service, proper resources and
equipment in the hospital is very significance. In the shortage of effective resources,
system and facilities, health care professionals can not able to deliver impressive care
services to patients.
 Types of patient illness- For achieve high quality of care service, type of disease is one of
the major factor. For deliver high quality of care services, doctors must have to identify
the type of diseases. If disease is very complex and in last stage then it is quite difficult to
improve heath of patient and deliver care services to them.
3.2 Evaluate the effectiveness of system, policies and procedure used in achieving quality in the
services
In the Royal united hospital, proper system, policies and procedure is very important for
deliver high quality services and care (Bernard, 2013). With help of effective system and
regulation, management can monitor the performance of heath care professional and improve
quality of care services. System of health care organisation support in managing entire activities
and function of the hospital through which doctor can deliver high quality of care services and
treatment to patient. In addition to this, In addition to this, policies helps to organisation in
making services effective and flexible for both employees as well as customers. Policies can
affect the quality of care services directly through which patient health can affect. The criteria of
working of heath care professional can also affect by the policies and procedure of organisation.
A well structured and systematic policies and practices deliver effective services through which
patient can easily improve their health issue.
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3.3 Suggest criteria in which quality could improve
In the Royal united hospital, for improve quality of care services various approaches and
strategies can follow. Following are various strategies for improve quality of care services- Training and development- This is one of the most significant strategy that can directly
affect quality of care services and treatment within Royal united hospital. For improve
quality of care services and treatment, organisation must organise training and
development program. Trained staff member can deliver appropriate treatment to patient. Use quality approaches- There are various kinds of quality approaches such as six sigma,
total quality management, sevaqual method etc (Alhatmi, 2011). With help of all these
approaches, organisation can improve quality of care services and make patient satisfy.
By use of this strategy, mistake and faults can eliminate from operation and procedure of
treatment.
 Design effective practices and policies- Royal united organisation should design
effective policies and practices for effective care services and treatment. There should
strict rules and principles for all staff member and health professionals so as they can
effectively follow their responsibility regarding objective of organisation.
CONCLUSION
By summarising entire report it has been concluded that in Royal united hospital for
improve and deliver quality care services to patient, quality standard plays a very important role.
By use of advanced technology, legislation, organise training and development program etc
organisation can easily improve effectiveness and quality of care services and treatment. It has
been also concluded that by implement total quality management technique in the operation, The
royal united hospital can continuously improve quality of care services and treatment for
improve patient health issue and make them satisfy.
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Online
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