Jim Easton has been appointed NHS National Director for Improvement and Efficiency, the Department of Health announced today.

Mr Easton, currently chief executive of the South Central Strategic Health Authority, has commenced work in this new role during a period of transition from the SHA.  Working to the NHS Chief Executive David Nicholson, Mr Easton will help drive major efficiency savings whilst improving the quality of service.

The new NHS National Director for Improvement and Efficiency will advise on changes needed to support the NHS in delivering its quality and efficiency commitments through a greater focus on quality, innovation, productivity and prevention (QIPP). This will allow the NHS to drive up quality whilst improving productivity - a challenge which means harnessing and spreading innovation and new ideas. QIPP will be key to building upon the success and great progress made in implementing the commitments set out last year in Lord Darzi’s High Quality Care for All.

David Nicholson will take a personal responsibility for QIPP, making it a significant part of his day to day work. It will also be the primary focus for the NHS Management Board. Jim Easton will remain a member of the NHS Management Board.

Jim Easton said:

'I am really excited about the new role. Over the past year, the NHS has put in place the most compelling and ambitious, patient-focused vision. We must plan to deliver significant efficiency savings whilst remaining true to our vision of high quality care for all.

'I am sad to be leaving South Central, but could not resist such an important role which is crucial for the success of the regional visions that I, and other SHA chief executives, have spent the past two years working on.'

NHS Chief Executive, David Nicholson, said:

'I have no doubt about the scale of the challenge ahead. We are in a strong position in terms of our finances over the next two years, our strong track record of delivery and high levels of confidence in us among our patients and public. We must put all of this to good use as we plan for the future.

'I want to make clear that quality, innovation, productivity and prevention is not a top-down, national initiative. It is about the NHS working in different ways to ensure that we deliver the highest quality care.  Making this a reality requires action at all levels of the system – from front-line clinicians to local providers and commissioners, SHAs, to the Department of Health and others at a national level. We will engage with every Board across the NHS to help to shape this.'

Earlier this month Mark Britnell, the Department of Health’s Director General for NHS Commissioning and Systems Management, was offered a position at KPMG. 

Commenting on Mark Britnell’s departure, David Nicholson said:

'Mark has been a great colleague over the past two years and has made an impressive contribution to the NHS. I wish him well for the future. I am determined to keep up the momentum of reform that I brought Mark in to start.'

Gary Belfield, Director of Commissioning, will replace Mr Britnell on an interim basis as acting Director General for Commissioning and System Management.  David Nicholson will be considering how the different directorates in the Department can best work to support the NHS in the light of QIPP and other changes.

http://www.institute.nhs.uk/nhs_alert/guest_editorials/July_2009_Guest_Editorial.html

Written by Julia RA Taylor and describes how service improvement tools can be used to drive up quality, drive out inefficiencies, and drive down costs.

IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT: Using service improvement tools to drive up quality, drive out inefficiencies and drive down costs

If you are involved in treating patients, managing and/or improving health services or managing or training those that do, you will understand the importance of providing the best care possible for all our patients.

High Quality Care for All has really helped to unite clinicians and managers around the principle of quality and to focus efforts on using innovation to drive up both the quality of patient care and the productivity of healthcare services.

Great progress has been made in improving service standards and access and in reducing waiting times, but there is still some way to go to ensure consistently high standards of patient care across the NHS.

It is clear that we need to ensure we are getting it right first time, which means better care and better value through the reduction of waste and errors and the prioritisation of effective treatments.  Quality, innovation, productivity and prevention (QIPP) is the mechanism through which we can achieve this.  

QIPP is about creating an environment in which change and improvement can flourish; it is about leading differently and in a way that fosters a culture of innovation; and it is about providing staff with the tools, techniques and support that will enable them to take ownership of improving quality of care.

This focus on innovation as the key driver for sustained quality improvements and unlocking productivity gains calls for a system-wide focus on designing and implementing more efficient and productive services that do not compromise on the quality and safety of patient care but rather enhance the patient experience.

For those of you with an interest in, or responsibility for, service transformation and quality improvement, QIPP provides a great opportunity to really engage and involve both clinical and managerial staff at all levels of the NHS in the quality agenda.  And this support is critical if quality improvement projects are to succeed.

Evidence shows that improvements in quality are led and delivered by teams that work together as part of a system.  This places a responsibility on service improvement leaders to influence and secure commitment for innovative service design and improvement projects at all levels of their organisation.

There is further onus on improvement leaders to secure an understanding that improvement doesn’t ‘just happen’, but rather requires capacity and capability and recognition that it is an essential driver of better patient care.

On Thursday 20 August 2009, I will share with you some key research and lessons learned on using service improvement tools successfully in the NHS in order to drive up quality of care, drive out inefficiencies and drive down costs.

I will also provide an overview of the range of improvement tools available to you, highlighting key sources of information that will enable you to understand when and where to use these tools to improve services in your organisation.

We will also look at two key issues that can cause even the best quality improvement projects to fail and how to avoid these.

With a common understanding of what high quality care looks like, and armed with the tools and techniques for effective improvement, we will be in the best position to respond to what David Nicholson, NHS Chief Executive sets out as “…a unique opportunity and a serious responsibility [now] to invest the growth of the next two years in plans that will benefit patients over the next five to 10 years.  Our best chance lies in focusing on improving quality and productivity, linked together by innovation driving sustained improvements across the system.”

Julia RA Taylor

Julia Taylor’s Expert on Call WebEx, Lessons Learned: Using Service Improvement Tools Effectively will run from 4pm to 5pm on Thursday 20 August 2009.  Click here to register for this event.

You may also find the following information useful, all of which is available on our website:

• Sustainability model and guide
•  Duty to promote innovation (109.40 KB)
• Quality and service improvement tools

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