• Major projects that aim to improve NHS services in Bolton showcased at special event
• Improvements included a dedicated telephone service so people receive diagnostic results sooner
• Quality improvement at heart of Trust ambitions over next few years

Major projects that are aiming to improve NHS services for people in Bolton have been showcased at a special event at Royal Bolton Hospital.

Teams and individuals presented their improvement projects at the Quality Improvement Project Showcase Event, which celebrated some of the positive changes that are taking place at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.

The event was organised by the Quality Improvement team, who support health professionals to find ways of improving services that will lead to better patient outcomes, system performance and professional development.

One of the projects showcased was work to improve access to care and prevent delays for patients who are suspected to have gynaecological cancers.

Until this year, gynaecology patients with a suspected cancer needed to travel to different clinics for blood tests. Clinical Nurse Specialists have now been trained to perform blood tests in outpatient clinics, reducing the need to travel and speeding up access to treatments.

Another project has seen a dedicated, nurse-led, telephone service set up to for head and neck patients that have a negative cancer diagnosis so that they’re informed about their outcome much sooner.

The new clinic, set up in April 2024, aims to reduce the length of time head and neck patients with non-cancer wait, reducing patient stress and anxiety, and improve patient experience.

Debbie Redfern, Assistant Director of Quality Improvement at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said:

The event was an outstanding success, not only were we able to showcase the outcomes of teams’ improvement projects on patient care and outcomes, but also clearly demonstrated the significance of quality improvement and that it can be done by anyone, for the benefit of everyone.

The Trust set out an ambition in it’s Strategy 2024-2029 to make it easier for staff to innovate and collaborate to improve care by offering training staff in quality improvement techniques.

Key goals for quality improvement at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust between 2024 and 2028 have also been outlined in a dedicated Quality Improvement Plan, putting the provision of safe and high quality care at the heart of the organisation to secure the best outcomes for patients and staff.

To find out more about the Trust’s commitment to providing the best quality services, please visit the Trust’s website. To find your place at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, click ‘join our team’.