The term quality improvement (QI) may sound a little intimidating but this page aims to dispel that feeling by giving you a basic introduction to quality improvement so you can understand more about it and what it involves.
The page has been created by NHS Lothians Quality Improvement Team for Care Homes and Primary Care Settings and aims to provide an introduction to QI, examples of QI from Care Homes and information about resources for further reading, courses and Qi tools.
What is Quality Improvement? – Everyone can do it!
Everyone can do it!
The term quality improvement may sound very complicated or even slightly scary but remember making positive (improvement) changes are actually something people do all the time in everyday real life – whether it’s changing your diet to be healthier or changing the time of morning handover so all relevant people can attend.
Basically it’s having an idea to improve something. Then making a goal and making plans for changes to achieve that goal. You will measure progress along the way as well as at the end. It is not always a straight process sometimes steps will need repeated or changed depending on how things are going. You will also need to look back to make sure you are still working towards the goal you set but it may be that your goal changes to a degree as you progress.
Quality improvement uses methods and tools to guide you through the process to achieve your aim/goal and make the change/changes you want to make.
The methods and tools provide a clear smooth process for carrying out and evidencing your work so you can clearly see what’s going well and what’s maybe not going too well, and in the end whether you have achieved the change and exactly how you did it – this can be useful for many things, including:
- Demonstrating to your team/residents/relatives why this change may be useful
- If someone wants to do your change too – they will know what to do but also that the idea is based on evidence rather than just thinking
- If you want to take the idea further and need to apply for funding or permission
Proving everyone can do it – Examples from Care Homes
Proving Everyone Can do it
Although there are teams such as the NHS Lothian Quality Improvement Team for Care Homes and Primary Care Settings who can help you with a quality improvement project you can also carry out a project yourself, here is an example of a Care Home doing it for themselves.
A walk down memory lane: Improving communication for residents and staff
Deputy Manager of Jewel House, Gill Morris, shares the project she completed as a part of the Scottish Improvement Foundation Skills (SIFS) Programme.
Gill’s project aimed to help improve communication for residents and staff; it proved so successful this work will continue with other residents.
“Creating a picture story book involved collecting photos and images and compiling them to tell the resident’s story.
My inspiration came from taking part in residents reminiscing groups. Although there is immense value in reminiscing. I found photos and pictures evoked stronger memories for some.
My aim was to create a life story book which I named “A walk down memory lane”.
I discovered photos and pictures helped transport a person back to that moment and was key to connecting people with their past.
Each image told a story, and it was amazing how effective this was for recapturing past memories. Memories hold tremendous value for people by bringing back forgotten times with images that may otherwise be a distant memory to them.
The positive feedback was the driving force for me as it has made the whole experience worthwhile.”
Gill shared this work in the Quality Improvement Forum on 10th June 2025.
Creating a skin tear E-kit and instruction card to improve skin tear management
Pei Shan Ng from Camilla House lead and completed a QI project creating a skin tear E-kit and instruction card to improve skin tear management.
The project objective was to improve staff knowledge and accessibility to appropriate dressing products when skin tears occur, prompting the implementation of the skin tear E-Kit.
The E-kit and instruction card was piloted in 8 selected Care Homes under Sanctuary Care with good feedback.
Feedback collected in the trial period showcased the positive impact that the Skin Tear E-Kit has had in the pilot sites.
Quality Improvement Resources & Courses
Whatever your interest in quality improvement is, the following resources will provide you with a wealth of information, including:
- What quality improvement involves
- Courses you can take to learn quality improvement methodology
- Resources for carrying out your own quality improvement project
- Seeing the methods we (the Quality Improvement Team for Care Homes and Primary Care Settings) may use when working with a Care Home or related team.
Turas
Some links on this webpage may require you to log into TURAS to view content – do not worry anyone can have a TURAS account and you can sign up using the link below.
Resources
Care Inspectorate – Quality Improvement Learning Resources
It has information on:
- Definitions and explanations of what quality improvement is
- Examples of quality improvement tools and how to apply QI and these tools
- Links to courses and quality improvement programmes
Lothian Quality Academy
It has information on:
- The quality improvement process
- Quality improvement tools
- Examples and videos of quality improvement work
- Quality improvement information for Patient Experience
- Quality Improvement Information for Staff experience
TURAS Learn Quality Improvement Zone
You will need to be logged into TURAS for links in this section to work.
The Quality Improvement Zone (QI Zone) is a learning and resource site from the Public Services Delivery (PSD) Scotland Quality Improvement team which provides information and resources to support people with experience at all levels of Quality Improvement to develop their knowledge.:
- The quality improvement process
- Quality improvement tools
- Online courses and programmes you or your staff could do for learning more about quality improvement and undertaking projects
Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
SSSC have produced a quality improvement (QI) learning resource to help you improve the quality of outcomes for people who use services.
The resource includes information on SSSC courses, QI resources and videos demonstrating how QI tools and techniques have supported services in Scotland to improve how they deliver services to the people that matter most.
Courses
Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership
Three e-learning modules:
- Definition of Clinical Quality
- Quality Improvement Principles
- Use of Quality Improvement Tools
There is a short certificated self assessment following completion of the modules to test your knowledge.
TURAS Learn Quality Improvement Zone: Learner Pathways
You will need to be logged into TURAS for links in this section to work.
The QI learner pathways have been designed to offer flexible learning for people working in public services, including health and social care, education, and beyond.
Kickstart QI
Kickstart QI is a single eLearning module to introduce learners to QI; it is open to anyone with a Turas account.
It should take around 30 minutes to complete.
QI Essentials
QI essentials is a series of 4 modules which aims to provide knowledge on core quality improvement methods and tools.
This course is for anyone who is or plans to be involved in improvement activity and change in their workplace.
Practical QI
Through a blended pathway of eLearning and facilitated sessions the purpose of this course is to provide the opportunity to practise using QI tools, frameworks and methodologies in the workplace.
This course is for anyone who wants to gain practical experience of QI methodologies.
Managing QI
This course is to enable managers and team leaders to create and sustain the conditions for improvement.
Learning materials are a blended pathway of eLearning and facilitated sessions
TURAS Learn Quality Improvement Zone: Scottish Improvement Leader Programme (ScIL)
You will need to be logged into TURAS for links in this section to work.
This course is designed for professionals within Scottish public services who are passionate about driving quality improvement initiatives and contributing to creating conditions for continuous improvement in their organisations and who want something a little more informative and in-depth than other courses on offer on this page.
Regardless of your specific role, ScIL equips its participants with the knowledge, tools, and skills needed to apply quality improvement methodologies, lead change initiatives, leverage data for informed decision-making, and create a collaborative environment that promotes continuous improvement.
The course requires a longer committment than some courses and can take up 13-18 months to complete through a mix of eLearning, facilitated sessions, networking oppertunities and completion of a work based quality improvement project.
Page updated October 2026 HS
