Time for change: Raising Standards

The new edition of Raising the Standards: RCoA Quality Improvement Compendium has been published on 1 September after a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are confident that this edition will be the ‘go to’ resource for all the quality improvement (QI) needs of trainees, trainers and others who want to undertake improvement work within anaesthesia, intensive care and perioperative medicine. This one of a kind publication has stood the test of time from its conception over 20 years ago and is even more relevant to the modern NHS to deliver safe, reliable and effective care.

It has been eight years since the publication of the last edition of the ‘Audit Recipe Book’ as it’s known to many of us. Our specialty and healthcare as a whole have moved on in our understanding of improvement science and its impact on safety, quality of care and both patient and professional satisfaction. However, many of us still lack the ‘real life’ experience of improvement science and this will provide a one-stop publication, highlighting and driving the QI agenda and encouraging teaching, training and continued professional development in QI.

At the start of this project, we wanted to make sure that this edition placed more emphasis on QI by making sure that QI methodology, habits and values were clearly visible throughout. QI editors were added to review the recipes in every chapter, which has helped to ensure that these skills are accessible to anyone interested in practicing this at their institution. To deliver up-to-date and relevant content, each chapter editor is currently or has previously been a GPAS contributor. This publication has also undergone an extensive review by all the relevant parties to ensure that it meets the standards, demands and needs of our readers.

The format of the book remains familiar, with Section A dedicated to the background of QI methodology and resources. This section explores common methodologies and skills needed to start an improvement project and follow the steps that are suggested in Section B. In Section B there are chapters covering a whole spectrum of our specialty, including a new chapter on cardiothoracic anaesthesia. Experts and specialist societies that have contributed to this edition have identified important themes that are facing us, not only in the next few years but also longer term.

We envisioned that this edition would showcase the best of our specialty, occupying a unique position in facilitating and strengthening the delivery of continuous improvement and safety programmes whilst aligning with RCoA professional standards and accreditation and the new QI curriculum. By having expert writers, a knowledgeable and experienced editorial team, and a robust review process, this publication will enable our colleagues to be early adopters of innovations, forerunners in initiating changes and advocates for improved patient experience and safety.

The current edition will also be more robust and receptive to any changes that may need to be added between editions as the landscape of our specialty changes. The web-based resource is supported by a dedicated team and any suggested changes can be emailed to qualityimprovement@rcoa.ac.uk.

We are profoundly grateful to all those that have contributed and dedicated their time, enthusiasm and expertise. We hope that they are as proud of this publication as we are, and the readers can use this resource to make QI a core daily activity.

Maria Chereshneva