Improvement Cymru relaunch conference

Earlier this week we welcomed over 650 delegates over two days from all over Wales to rethink how we improve – together.

The conference was not only a relaunch of 1000 Lives Improvement as Improvement Cymru, but a chance to get together to discuss the future of Improvement in Wales, share our plans to help support you on your Improvement journey and to learn from each other.

It was great to have so much experience in one room and input from participants from all over the UK across the two days. We heard a from a wide range of speakers on the stage including a thought provoking panel discussion on the future of Improvement in Wales. Delegates had the opportunity to choose between eight different afternoon sessions delivered in collaboration with Improvement experts from across health and social care.

Day one concluded with an inspirational keynote on resilience from Jean White, Chief Nursing Officer for Wales and Nurse Director NHS Wales before the evening reception speed networking event where attendees moved between 31 tables of Improvement projects to share experiences.

Day two began with more breakout sessions and a think tank discussion on “what does good look like” with questions to representatives from Public Health Wales, Welsh Government, Monmouthshire Council, Swansea University and Healthcare Improvement Scotland. There were 64 posters of projects displayed during the conference - congratulations go to all winners and Mohammed Imran from the University Dental Hospital in Cardiff and Vale UHB who received first prize.

A series of masterclasses also followed the conference to develop our new Improvement Cymru programmes and we hosted an event for Q Cymru members.

Opening the conference, Andrew Goodall NHS Wales Director General of Health and Social Services and Chief Executive said: “We need to do Improvement differently. Improvement Cymru’s approach builds on the experience of the national team championing and implementing Improvement. The new framework the team are piloting is fundamental to this and they are already seeing results.”

Our new Improvement Cymru Academy plans were launched at the event. This will become a one-stop-shop for improvement skills development, coaching and guidance in Wales. In a united consistent way that upholds standards and makes improvement easier to learn about, practice and deliver. This will build on the success of our improving quality together programme, with more varied courses and support available that enables you to progress your own improvement journey. The next steps will be recruitment and course development. We’ll keep you informed on progress - find out more in this video.

We were also pleased to welcome Penny Pereira Q Initiative Director, The Health Foundation who announced our plans for Q Lab Cymru, a partnership with the Health Foundation focusing on health and social care challenges in Wales coming in Spring 2020. The lab will be a space and team within Improvement Cymru, supporting those working on key priorities to learn, experiment and adjust programmes so they can connect as well as possible with the reality of change on the ground and have even greater impact. Read more here.

John Boulton, Director of NHS Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, Improvement Cymru said: “Thank you to everyone who made the conference it couldn’t have been such a success without you. Whether it was as a delegate, sharing a poster, as part of our panels, hosting one of the speed networking tables, exhibiting, joining in on social media, speaking at one of the sessions or delivering a keynote speech on the main stage, we really appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm and input.

“The excitement in the room was palpable. It’s important that we emphasise that this is just the beginning of our journey and one that we want to go on together with you so that we can achieve a healthier Wales.”

We’ll be uploading conference content for those who couldn’t attend soon. Sign up to our newsletter and follow us on social media to stay up to date.

Learn about our Improvement Cymru Academy