@thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk
We are The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute. We're strengthening the evidence base for healthcare improvement. Based at the University of Cambridge and made possible by the Health Foundation. thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk
Arm of a patient in a hospital bed, with lines and cannula in hand.
In this BMJ opinion piece, @marydixonwoods.bsky.social, Ajay Aggarwal & Richard Grieve argue for a more thoughtful understanding of why delays in cancer treatment occur & suggest a learning system, large scale collaboration, data & codesign may help develop solutions.
Read more: ths.im/46EnUcJ
How will the #NHS10YearPlan affect access to general practice? The Plan aims to end 8am scrambles & bring back family doctors. But how do access experiences of patients, carers, and NHS staff align with the Plan’s 3 shifts?
Read the full paper: ths.im/47mwGvY
THIS Summary: ths.im/4d1ddVj
Headshot of Justin Waring with title Improving perioperative care on national scale: Read the fellowship story
What does success in implementing an innovation to improve surgical outcomes on a national scale look like & what can we learn from embedding a new intervention?
#THISFellow @justin-waring.bsky.social explored this challenge through his fellowship project. Learn more in his story: ths.im/3OIg2k2
In a collaborative office, engineers deploy AI intelligence.
Using clinical prediction models to predict illness and make decisions can lead to a worsening in existing inequities. Using ‘subgroup net benefit’ looks beyond the algorithms to add clinical & social context.
Full paper: ths.im/3MtKwFL
THIS summary: ths.im/4tV65zY
Don't miss @marydixonwoods.bsky.social, presenting on the evidence-base for large-scale change: ths.im/4aEInz7
The Transforming Our Future: Prediction, Prevention & Early Diagnosis in Healthcare conference poster
The Transforming Our Future: Prediction, Prevention & Early Diagnosis in Healthcare conference spotlights cutting-edge science, bringing together experts to tackle challenges shaping prevention & early diagnosis.
Graphic illustrating what role operations management can play in shaping how care is designed, planned, and delivered.
Healthcare faces rising demand and tight resources. Michael A. Lewis and Christos Vasilakis @uniofbath.bsky.social examine the role operations management can play in capacity management, focused work, and shaping interactions between people and processes.
Read more here: ths.im/4rbW1kq
THIS Space 2025 logo and the title 'Six perspectives of real-world learning on healthcare improvement' along with 6 headshots of fellows
From preparing hospitals for a climate-resilient future, to understanding what influences stroke survivors engaging with the recommended rehabilitation plan, our #THISFellows explore these topics and more at #THISSpace25 Catch up on the lightning talks in this story ths.im/4j0dAQX
Healthcare worker in blue trousers runs down a hospital corridor, pushing a trolley
People with mental health conditions often die younger because treatable physical illnesses are missed or diagnosed too late. We studied three English EDs to find out how physical illness is diagnosed in patients with mental health conditions.
Full paper: ths.im/4aqGd6c
THIS Summary: ths.im/4amyFRR
Access to primary care, especially for GP appointments, has long been a challenge. A new BMJ podcast shares findings from THIS Institute & @healthfoundation.bsky.social on how real patient & staff experiences match the NHS 10-year plan’s three shifts. Read more: ths.im/3MbFrSq
Powerful story from @jama.com on the long-term impact of critical illness, featuring patient stories as well as clinical insights from @jomcpeake.bsky.social & her fellowship. Watch the video here ja.ma/45egOLb & learn more about Jo’s work in the field bit.ly/4pHJYcP
Mother and newborn daughter born by Cesarean section
Our paper reviews the evidence along with insights from the ABC programme.
Full paper: ths.im/3Mn8rWS
THIS summary ths.im/48s806B
Over a third of UK births are by caesarean, and these are sometimes required during advanced labour, when the baby’s head is low and wedged in the mother’s pelvis. This can make it difficult to deliver the baby and there’s no agreed way on how best to manage it.
There needs to be more clarity about what the #NHS10YearPlan offers for patients and what “good enough” looks like in terms of access, along with careful co-design and evaluation of the detail of each of the three shifts.
Full paper: ths.im/4b6oPWp
THIS Summary: ths.im/49oDU4k
Giving you more control over your health and care.
Will access to general practice be affected by the #NHS10YearPlan? There needs to be clarity about what this offers for patients, what “good enough” looks like for access & careful co-design & evaluation of the detail of each of the 3 shifts.
Full paper: ths.im/4b6oPWp
THIS Summary: ths.im/49oDU4k
Nurse in a hospital ward offering a glass of water to an elderly patient in bed.
Nearly 10m people have surgery in the UK yearly & need good perioperative care. Our rapid evidence review & participatory exercise highlighted 10 key areas. We worked with patients, carers, clinicians & managers to develop a quality framework.
Full paper: ths.im/4bxxpNU
THIS summary: ths.im/3Nt0Dn4
Nurse with a patient and his partner by the hospital bed.
We evaluated the patient safety specialist role across England in 2019 and identified what's working well and where improvements are needed.
THIS summary: ths.im/48DZzUh
Full paper: ths.im/3YdOTXL
We're seeking a strategic thinker to lead on our engagement & involvement activities, ensuring that our research is shaped by healthcare staff, patients, policymakers & academics. Our research has the potential to transform healthcare.
Apply by Monday 26 January: ths.im/49jAxLR
A surgeon wearing a blue headcover and a mask is putting on white surgical gloves
Help improve timeliness of hospital CT scans for people on the acute abdomen pathways by sharing your feedback in a new THIS Institute & @rcoa-cri.bsky.social survey. We’d love to hear from you if you work in the ED, radiology, or surgery. Take part now: bit.ly/4sNw8Zx
Smiling nurse attends to senior patient in hospital bed.
Concern about delays in NHS cancer care has grown. Rising cancer incidence, complex treatments & limited resources make it harder to meet targets set in 1997. @marydixonwoods.bsky.social, Ajay Aggarwal & Richard Grieve suggest a national learning system approach may help. Read ths.im/3YsvNNQ
We’re proud this work has been shortlisted for three awards. Congratulations to Sushma Sangyam (@sushma.bsky.social) who received a University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine Inclusive Leader Award for her role in the work.
Illustration of a diverse group running together in a relay, passing a red circle to symbolise teamwork and inclusion.
How we communicate matters. We’ve been working to improve equity, diversity and inclusion in how we communicate at THIS Institute. Our latest blog shares what we did, what we learned, and why it matters: ths.im/3Z0tce5
Group of people in a GP surgery. Woman holding a phone.
Access to healthcare is often focused on speed and supply, but this doesn’t consider other crucial aspects of people’s experiences. The candidacy framework can help understand access to general practice more broadly.
Full paper: ths.im/3Kz0Vb4
THIS Summary: ths.im/4phBVnH
Through frank and honest conversations unpacking what works (and what doesn’t) in healthcare improvement, our podcast series explores some of the biggest challenges facing the sector.
Download episodes and listen to the podcast series now: ths.im/4l8JbQi
Woman looking at her phone
Making it easier to get appointments is the public’s top priority for the NHS. We reviewed 40 years of interventions into a themed catalogue to help guide improvement efforts.
THIS summary: ths.im/3MlV1dS
Full paper: ths.im/44DALL2
GP woman attending to a patient by reviewing the blood pressure.
Our review shows that the candidacy framework can help explain why improving access to general practice is so complex. It highlights issues that affect how people seek care but may benefit from updating to reflect general practice changes.
Full paper: ths.im/4aljBFS
THIS summary: ths.im/4iZqTBe
Nurse wheeling a tray down the corridor.
Nearly 10 million people have surgery every year in the UK, so how can we ensure quality care before, during & after? We asked patients, carers & staff to help develop an evidence-based framework to support good quality surgical care.
View the framework: buff.ly/4EcTh49#peri...
We worked in collaboration with the charity @sepsisresearch.bsky.social, the @jameslindalliance.bsky.social, and more than 1500 sepsis survivors, carers, and clinicians to find out what the top 10 research priorities for sepsis were.
Nurse attending to a patient.
Sepsis kills more than 45,000 people in the UK each year - costing the NHS £1.1bn, & can lead to long-term physical, mental, & emotional challenges for survivors. We asked patients, carers & clinicians what research mattered most to them.
Full paper: buff.ly/7MBiCmc
THIS summary: buff.ly/pu3onzt
Portrait of Tim Draycott
We’ve established the Tim Draycott Scholarship Fund to honour a global leader in maternity safety and his work with THIS Institute.
If you’d like to learn more or contribute in Tim’s memory, details are here: ths.im/4rRZlBU