7004 Q3: Quality Improvement Cycle in Infection Risk Management Report

This report analyzes the application of the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, a quality improvement methodology, in the context of infection risk management, specifically referencing the Havelock North drinking water inquiry. The assignment outlines the PDSA cycle's steps: Plan (establishing objectives), Do (implementing procedures), Study (evaluating results), and Act (analyzing and refining). The report demonstrates how the cycle is reflected in the management of drinking water safety, highlighting the planning stages to ensure safe water delivery, the implementation by the Hasting District Council, the study phase involving an inquiry into the contamination, and the actions taken in response to the outbreak. The analysis emphasizes the importance of each stage in continuous improvement, identifying gaps in readiness and the significance of diligence in protecting public health. The report also references the provided article which shows that planning and management of drinking water is put to place in order to ensure customers are delivered with safe water and avoid contamination. The findings from the inquiry show the importance of this process to ensure the drinking water is safe for consumption.

Leadership of infection risk management

The PDSA cycle which stands for Plan, Do, Study and Act, is an iterative problem
solving procedure which includes four steps that are usually utilised in the business procedure
improvements. The cycle was previously known as the PDCA cycle that stood for plan, do,
check, act. The cycle was modified by Dr. Edwards Deming in order to describe the aspect and
nature of continuous improvement in a better way (Johnson, 2016).
The Plan stage involves the establishment of the various processes and objectives which
are significant for delivering outcomes with respect to the expected output (Donnelly & Kirk,
2015). The provided article shows that planning and management of drinking water is put to
place in order to ensure customers are delivered with safe water and avoid contamination.
The Do stage involves the implementation of new procedures usually on a small scale
basis. In the provided case, the Hasting District Council involves into supplying drinking water
to the people of Havelock North. The water is sourced to the consumers from an aquafier in
order to ensure that it is safe for drinking. The District Council also sets standards and monitors
the compliance with these standards for ensure safety.
The Study stage involves the evaluation of new procedures and comparison of the results
with the expected outcomes for ascertaining the differences (Leis & Shojania, 2017). It basically
shows how the quality of goods and services can be improved and enhanced. In the case, an
enquiry is conducted which shows that the safe drinking water delivery to the people was reliable
upon the security of the contaminants' sources. It was also inspected from the enquiry that
various parties who were responsible for the regime of water supply failed in complying with the
high levels of diligence in care which is important for protecting public health and avoiding the

outbreak of illness. The various failings of the authorities have been provided in the findings
sections of the article.
Finally, the Act stage involves the analysis of the determination of their causes. Each of
the differences are meant to be a part of one or more of the steps of the PDSA cycle. The step
includes the determination of the places where changes should be applied which would bring
improvement. After the implementation of the four steps, if a need for improvement does not
arise, the scope on which the PDSA is applied should be refined until the arrival of a plan which
includes improvement (Nakayama, Bushey, Hubbard, Cole, Brown, Grant & Shaker, 2010). In
the provided case, after the inquiry's inspection, the responses to the outbreak were handled well.
Although significant gaps were found in readiness, like there was no emergency response plan
for the District Council.

References
Donnelly, P., & Kirk, P. (2015). Use the PDSA model for effective change
management. Education for Primary Care, 26(4), 279-281.
Johnson, C. N. (2016). The benefits of PDCA. Quality Progress, 49(1), 45.
Leis, J. A., & Shojania, K. G. (2017). A primer on PDSA: executing plan–do–study–act cycles in
practice, not just in name. BMJ Qual Saf, 26(7), 572-577.
Nakayama, D.K., Bushey, T.N., Hubbard, I., Cole, D., Brown, A., Grant, T.M. & Shaker, I.J.
(2010). Using a Plan‐Do‐Study‐Act cycle to introduce a new or service line. AORN
journal, 92(3), pp.335-343.