The forum showcased a continent-wide perspective on patient safety and quality improvement. You can watch a LIVE RECORDING of the session and read more about ACQUIRE here.
Session 2 of the ACQUIRE Quality Improvement Leadership Forum provided an opportunity for healthcare professionals to share their personal experiences and insights on Quality Improvement (QI) Capabilities across the health system. The discussion centered on what has worked for them, the challenges they’ve encountered, and the impact of policies on healthcare quality. Moderated by Dr. Mike Mulongo, the session drew experiences from Kenya, Cameroon, and beyond, culminating in a collective commitment to quality improvement across all levels of the healthcare system.
Personal Experiences in Quality Improvement
Chris Mandere, a Nurse Officer at Kijabe Hospital, recounted his challenging yet transformative journey in QI, underscoring the profound impact of quality-oriented training on hospital culture. Under the leadership of Professor Mary Adams, the team at Kijabe embraced QI practices that reduced patient wait times and inefficiencies, marking a significant shift toward a patient-centered approach. Mandere stated, “A patient coming to the hospital at 10 a.m. and leaving at 5 p.m. is not the ideal scenario.” This transformation highlighted how a quality-driven culture could fundamentally alter the healthcare experience.
“Quality is a culture, and quality is a journey,” Mandere emphasized, underscoring the belief that a culture of quality must be deeply ingrained in daily practices for it to truly make a difference. Now, Kijabe Hospital serves as a model where every team member is part of the QI process, fostering a systems view to ensure efficient and effective patient care.
Similarly, Dr. Ndi Norah Nya, Chief Medical Officer at Mbingo Baptist Hospital in Cameroon, shared how her understanding of QI had shifted from a purely technical view of QI to one that places patients at the core. Dr. Ndi highlighted the value of fostering a non-punitive environment, where healthcare workers can learn from mistakes and consult freely across the system, thus encouraging continuous quality improvement.
“Allowing healthcare workers to learn from mistakes creates space for growth and improvement.”
Dr. Ndi noted that her team has been able to balance development and patient care, even amid staffing challenges, by taking advantage of self-paced online learning, rolling out suggestion boxes to collect feedback from all stakeholders and providing support to overworked departments at the hospital. Additionally, creating an enabling environment where junior staff can raise concerns without fear has improved the uptake of QI initiatives at their institution.
Institutional Reflections: What Worked and What Didn’t?
Across institutions, the key takeaway was that patient-centred care should drive QI efforts. In Kijabe Hospital, positive feedback from patients and staff has led to culture shifts and significant improvements in care delivery. Dr. Ndi emphasised that communication with patients—ensuring they are fully informed and involved—has been essential in improving patient experiences in Cameroon.
In Kijabe, a curriculum review in QI training proved crucial. “Doing our work is as important as doing our work right,” emphasised Mandere. Both institutions found that quality improvement must be integrated into the daily work culture rather than treated as a separate function.
Policy-Level Reflections: A Chain of Responsibility
The second part of the session featured insights from policy and healthcare management leaders, including Mr. Bernard Henry Omondi, Dr. Neema Ali Mohammed, Mrs. Violet Makokha, and Dr. Aisha Mohammed from Kenya’s Ministry of Health. The panellists unanimously agreed that support from top management is critical for the success of QI initiatives. “Quality is not expensive, it’s priceless. At the tail end of every process is the patient,” said Mr. Bernard Omondi.
Key themes from the policy discussions included:
- Mindset Shift: Healthcare workers often leave QI to designated departments, but success is realised when QI is seen as an integral part of everyone’s role.
- Exploiting Technology: Leveraging technology for monitoring and improving care processes is a game-changer.
- Collective Responsibility: Each healthcare worker’s output directly impacts the next, highlighting the importance of collaboration.
- Avoiding Blame: Apportioning blame doesn’t yield results; instead, fostering a culture of collective learning drives improvement.
- Ongoing Learning: Quality improvement should be part of daily learning for all healthcare workers, not a one-time training.
A Collective Commitment to Quality
As Mr. Chris Mandere emphasised, “Quality is a culture, and it must be at the heart of every action we take.” Success is dependent on creating a patient-centred culture that involves everyone in the healthcare system. Whether through personal growth, institutional change, or policy support, healthcare systems can achieve higher standards of care by embracing continuous quality improvement.
