quality improvement

Intravenous (IV) fluid therapy is integral to the care of patients in hospitals but involves complex decisions. Errors in fluid prescribing are common, leading to significant harm due to inappropriate fluid type, rate or volume. British national guidelines have been developed to improve prescribing, but adherence has been generally poor. The Scottish Government has set up a National IV Fluid Improvement Programme to implement national guidelines throughout Scotland.

Background In 2015 the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board (JRCPTB), acting on behalf of the three UK Royal Colleges of Physicians, launched a set of quality criteria designed to improve the educational experience of Core Medical Trainees.

In today’s NHS, qualitative research is increasingly important as a method of assessing and improving quality of care. Grounded theory has developed as an analytical approach to qualitative data over the last 40 years. It is primarily an inductive process whereby theoretical insights are generated from data, in contrast to deductive research where theoretical hypotheses are tested via data collection. Grounded theory has been one of the main contributors to the acceptance of qualitative methods in a wide range of applied social sciences.