Improving neurological health services
Raising the standard of care through continuous
improvement
Improving neurological services for every patient requires
support from the 3 areas of the cycle of integrated improvement.
Our Neurological Services Implementation and Improvement Support
programme focused on the Clinical Standards for Neurological Health Services
(2009). Early evaluation by NHS boards showed how these
standards were being implemented by neurological services across
the country and identified key areas where quality improvement
support would be most beneficial. Our improvement support focused
on areas such as development of service plans, collecting and
acting upon feedback, provision of information and
neuropsychology/neuropsychiatry. The programme worked closely
with the Neurological Alliance and its members, together with
people living with neurological disorders and
involved events, networking and continued evaluation
activities with NHS boards.
The quality of neurological health services in 2012
Our NHSScotland local report published May 2012
presents the findings from national neurological health services
review panels. This report provides a baseline of the quality of
neurological health services in Scotland and identifies specific
areas for improvement.
Evaluating self assessments
Healthcare Improvement Scotland took a risk based and
proportionate approach to the evaluations that led to the
local report published in May. A series of evaluation panels
took place in January and February 2012. NHS boards’ completed
self-evaluations and provided supporting data to allow the panels
to assess performance against the 17
key quality criteria.
Improving care of functional neurological
symptoms
NHS boards face many competing priorities, our improvement
approach enabled specialists to secure dedicated time and resource
to the improvement activities which mattered most to them.
The Stepped Care report published in March 2012
was produced by neurologists, psychiatrists and clinical
neuropsychologists and provides recommendations specific to
functional symptoms that NHS boards may wish to implement.
NISP flash
report
The neurology patient journey
The
clinical standards for neurological services in Scotland state
that from referral, every patient should experience a quality of
care that gives confidence to the patient, clinician and carer. The
standards set a level of care for all patients with neurological
conditions and give specific indicators for:
- epilepsy
- headache
- motor neurone disease
- multiple sclerosis, and
- Parkinson’s disease.
Raising the standard of care
The final report of the Neurology Programme will be published in
2012. It will capture the progress made by boards to improve
services for people living with neurological conditions.
The Scottish Government has invited the
Neurological Alliance of Scotland to form a National Neurological
Services Advisory Group to oversee and support boards as boards
take their improvement plans forward.
Only through continuous partnership working
will the vision that every patient in Scotland with a neurological
disorder experiences a quality of care that gives confidence to the
patient, clinician and carer be achieved.
