Learning from good practice: Quality Improvement in Radiotherapy

‘Quality’ in healthcare is multifaceted. Some NHS organisations are adopting a
Quadruple Aim, namely, improving health for the local community, best possible care
for patients, value for money for taxpayers, and joy and pride in work for staff. Quality
Improvement (QI) is a body of knowledge, tools and techniques that can be applied to
any of these aims; in fact, whilst many might regard these four as involving trade-offs,
the magic of QI is that it can lead to significant improvements in several, or even all,
areas, simultaneously. For example, organising the processes involved in a care
delivery system to better serve the patients (both in clinical and experience terms) can
result in shorter waits, a cheaper system, and be more satisfying for staff.