Northampton hospital and university develop unique study programme

A unique post-graduate course offering unprecedented access to clinical quality improvement processes and facilities has been launched jointly by Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust and the University of Northampton.

The course, an MSc in Quality Improvement & Patient Safety, is the first of its kind in the United Kingdom to be taught within a hospital rather than a university and will incorporate hospital-based study including NGH’s acclaimed simulation centre where everyday scenarios can be recreated for training purposes.

The University Validation Panel commended NGH and the University of Northampton programme development team for the excellence of the programme design and for the well-thought out and well-written module specifications.

NGH Chief Executive Dr Sonia Swart said: “I am immensely proud of our quality improvement team who have pulled this innovative degree programme together. It is entirely in keeping with our desire to align the whole hospital around achieving QI excellence.”

Programme leader Celia Warlow, Assistant Director of Patient Safety and Quality Improvement at NGH, said: “The course is aimed at health and social care professionals who wish to develop a greater understanding and expertise in quality improvement and patient safety with strong emphasis on practical application.

“Students will benefit from senior clinical mentorship as each module will offer a flexible mix of taught elements and project based in their practice further supported by our simulation suite and online learning resources.

“A major strength of this course is the collaborative model already in place between the university and the hospital. This means students will benefit from a unique programme centred around hospital-based quality improvement processes and incorporating shadowing of hospital quality and safety leaders and mentorship from the quality improvement team, in addition to the usual student support offered by the university.”

Jacob Saranga, Head of Health Professions at the University of Northampton, said: “We are proud and excited about our work with NGH in delivering this new and innovative programme. The MSc in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety is a unique and innovative programme which runs alongside the national and local health and social care agenda. We look forward to further fruitful and successful collaboration.”

Modules will be taught through a blended learning approach including: lectures, workshops, seminars, on line materials, and the hospital’s simulation centre. Students will be assessed through presentations and written assignment, reports, simulated case studies and dissertation. MSc students will also be required to design, implement and report on an extended quality improvement project.

For further information and to apply, visit the course details on the university website or email the programme lead.