NHS Wales Performance and Improvement

💬 "By capturing key determinants such as housing, employment, communication, social isolation, and service barriers, the HEF+ helps services monitor, understand, and improve health outcomes.”

New National Guidance and Standards have been published to reinforce the vital role of the Health Equality Framework+ (HEF+) in tackling health inequalities for adults with a learning disability.

NHS Wales Performance and Improvement’s Learning Disability Programme has collaborated with Health Boards in Wales to develop the guidance.

Read the full story: https://performanceandimprovement.nhs.wales/functions/quality-safety-and-improvement/news-and-blog/news/new-national-guidance-and-standards-for-health-equality-framework-hef-in-wales/

👋 Our Programme are presenting at this week's 2025 Seattle Club Conference on Research in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at the University of Kent.

Senior Improvement Manager Bethany Kruger and Information Analyst Adam Watkins are talking about our role in creating the Paul Ridd Learning Disability Awareness Training, which has been completed by over 70,000 healthcare staff in Wales.

The training has marked a major milestone in creating confidence that the healthcare workforce in Wales has the right values, knowledge, skills and competence to provide the right care at the right time to people with a learning disability.

Find out more about this work: 🔗 https://performanceandimprovement.nhs.wales/functions/quality-safety-and-improvement/improvement/our-work/learning-disability/paul-ridd-learning-disability-awareness-training/

Just under 30 teams from across Wales, Bristol and Northern Ireland are tackling hospital-acquired deconditioning, as part of the Preventing Deconditioning workstream.

🤔 Hospital-acquired deconditioning can be described as the loss of a person’s fitness and functional ability following a period of inactivity or bedrest. It can have devastating long-term effects for service users.

A year on since the workstream first started, teams’ progress was celebrated at the recent National Preventing Deconditioning Summit 🎉

Now attention turns to supporting staff trial the newly developed deconditioning measurement tool in their health boards and trusts.

Read the latest 👇
https://performanceandimprovement.nhs.wales/functions/quality-safety-and-improvement/news-and-blog/news/one-year-on-teams-remain-at-the-forefront-of-tackling-deconditioning/

🌍 A new tool developed to measure the harm that befalls patients in hospital has been branded “a global first.”

Unveiled at last month’s National Preventing Deconditioning Summit, the Deconditioning Early Warning Indicator (DEWI) is the first tool of its kind. DEWI measures 11 key domains to spot early signs of hospital-acquired deconditioning, helping teams to take swift action, reduce avoidable harm and improve patient outcomes.

Read more here 👇

A Global First: Wales leads the charge with new deconditioning measurement tool Work is progressing to develop a fully robust tool that measures the harm that befalls patients in hospital, thanks to the efforts of the Six Goals for Urgent and Emergency Care National Programme , Value Transformation …

“I have absolutely loved being a nurse, it has been more than I could have ever dreamed of."

Registered Nursing Associate Programme Lead, Dr Lyn Middleton MBE has been awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the RCN Wales Nurse of the Year Awards.

The accolade reflects an outstanding 47-year nursing career, during which Lyn has shaped nursing practice, policy, and education across Wales and beyond.

Beginning her nursing journey in the 1970s, Lyn has held a series of influential leadership roles, including Associate Director of Nursing at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. Her work has consistently focused on improving patient care and strengthening the nursing workforce.

Among her many achievements, Lyn led the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) revalidation pilot for Wales, supporting over 800 registrants and helping to shape national processes for professional standards and lifelong learning. She played a key role in developing the Advanced Practice Framework and has proudly represented Welsh nursing on the international stage.

Lyn has also been instrumental in introducing the Registered Nursing Associate role to Wales - the most significant review of nursing workforce structure in over 20 years. The initiative has strengthened capacity, improved patient care, and created new career pathways for nurses.

Be part of something new and transformative in dementia care.

🗓 Thursday 6 November 2025 | ⏰09:30–16:30 | 💻 Online

The first-ever Dementia Care Research Conference, hosted by the National Dementia Care Programme, is a dynamic and interactive event designed to inform, inspire, and spark real change across care and research.

Themes:
☑️ Accessible services
☑️ Responsive to individual needs
☑️ Working in partnership across organisations
☑️ Improving the journey for people living with dementia

Sarah Murphy, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing will be joining to open the event followed by guest speakers with lived experience and from across health, social care, third sector and academia.

Open to anyone affected by or interested in dementia care and passionate about research. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and help shape the future of dementia care in Wales.

🔗 Register your place today: https://dementiaconference.vfairs.com/en

📊 A new trial has begun to modernise data capture and decision making on health and social care inequalities in Wales.

The three-month trial will explore a digital version of the Health Equality Framework+ (HEF+), an outcome measure used by specialist practitioners in learning disability services.

Hywel Dda Health Board developed the digital HEF+ and the trial is taking place across their Community Learning Disability Teams.

Read more: 🔗 https://performanceandimprovement.nhs.wales/functions/quality-safety-and-improvement/news-and-blog/news/innovative-trial-launched-to-test-digital-answer-to-identifying-health-inequalities/

📬 We’re excited to introduce the National Network for Learning Disability, an opportunity to engage with our improvement agenda.

Whether you’re a person with lived experience, a healthcare or social care professional, an educator, or a policymaker - your voice matters.

Participation is free, flexible, and designed to help us all shape a safer, fairer, and healthier future.

Read more: 🔗 https://www.improvementcymru.net/en/2025/10/20/building-a-national-network/

A new support programme is available to eligible teams across NHS Wales to help them design and test a Quality Management System (QMS) within their area.

✔️ Embedding a QMS is a requirement under the Duty of Quality, and the new QMS Prototype Programme of Support is just one of the offers available to health boards and trusts through the Safe Care Partnership.

🔍 Learn more about how teams are embedding effective QMS:
https://performanceandimprovement.nhs.wales/functions/quality-safety-and-improvement/news-and-blog/news/new-programme-of-support-to-establish-qms-prototypes-for-nhs-wales/

🤔 We all know improvement matters, but what if training looked at all aspects of quality?

✔️ With the needs of the system changing, and following feedback gathered from staff, the Academy’s training offer is adapting to focus on all aspects of a quality management system.

The Academy now offers courses based on what teams need in real-time.

Find out how the Academy can help you and your teams. 👇
https://www.improvementcymru.net/en/2025/10/01/quality-training/

💬 "It reminds me that we're all human and that we're not alone. I think we need to share our thoughts and feelings more."

Preparing to leave hospital is a vital step in recovery and the new Safe Discharge Standards for Wales supports a safe, person-centred transition home for everyone.

On , the spotlight falls on how Cardiff and Vale Recovery & Wellbeing College is putting these standards into action through their Preparing for Discharge (P4D) course.

P4D shows that with the right preparation, discharge is not the end - it’s a new beginning. 💙

👉 Read the blog here: https://www.improvementcymru.net/en/2025/10/10/preparing-for-discharge-p4d/

🚀 First national quality measures launched for the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF)!

What if every patient in Wales could rely on the same high-quality care, no matter where they lived or who they saw?

The QOF is designed to track services in key areas such as diabetes care, infection control, and patient experience.

By bringing this information together in one place, the QOF will help reduce variation across Wales, support learning across the system, and improve outcomes for patients.

👉 Read more about what the QOF means for patient care in Wales: https://performanceandimprovement.nhs.wales/functions/quality-safety-and-improvement/news-and-blog/news/quality-measures/