It might not be said very often, but clinical audit is about the pursuit of excellence. In a nutshell, we use regular measurements to refine the way we do things, implement changes in the hope that we can make care to our patients better and safer. In many ways, clinical audit shares similarities with sport and the constant desire by athletes upholding the Olympic motto ‘faster, higher, stronger’.
10 days ago, many of us watched two incredible Kenyan athletes, one male and one female, reach new heights in the marathon. On 12 October in Vienna, Eliud Kipchoge completed 26.2 miles in just under 2 hours (albeit in a non-competitive race and with the assistance of pacemakers) and on the very next day Brigid Kosgei obliterated Paula Radcliffe’s record by 81 seconds in Chicago. Two special humans from humble origins who have run marathons considerably faster than any of their peers on the planet! Both gold-standard bearers.
And we only need to look at the history of sport to find examples of men/women who have shown us all what is possible with dedication, determination and talent. Most of them are so recognisable that we know them by just one name: Ali, Pele, Nicklaus, Roger, Steffi, Nadia, Usain, Jordan (pictured), Gretzky, Phelps, Rossi, Serena, Merckx, Stenmark, etc. Others have dominated their sport to such a degree that their feats are unlikely to be surpassed… people like Phil Taylor, Jahangir Khan, Simone Biles and Heather McKay (look her up!)
Of course, as mere mortals we will never come close to achieving what these sports superstars have accomplished, but as those working in improvement, we can learn much from leaders in the field (and on the field) to help us move forwards. Many of you will be avidly watching the Rugby World Cup in Japan, so it seems a good time to mention the types of team-members as recognised by Sir Clive Woodward (who coached England to their only every victory in 2003). For Woodward, you are either an unwanted energy-sapper who prevents progress by draining, eroding, weakening, exhausting and depleting or a much-needed energiser who shows drive, stamina, intensity, force and efficiency. Have a think about which category you honestly fall into. Having worked in audit and QI for 25 years, we meet too many mood-hoovers who suck the life out of others and bring the team down to their level. People who tell us ‘it can’t be done’, ‘it’s not possible’, ‘no chance’…
Sticking to the rugby theme, we’d also encourage you to take a look at the 15 team-working principles as applied by the All Blacks (who irrespective of how they do in Japan) are the most successful international rugby team by a distance. Many of us working in audit, QI and wider healthcare can adopt the AB principles, available here, to build more effective teams that have a real impact. The AB’s preach that everyone is a leader, everyone takes personal responsibility, no one is bigger than the team, that a hunger for learning is vital and (neatly for audit) you never rest on your laurels and continually seek to be better and improve!
To conclude… while sport often focuses on being the best, audit and QI preaches following best practice. Obviously, we can’t all be best, but by adopting and encouraging some of the principles and traits set out here by the likes of the All Blacks and Sir Clive, we can do better. And that is fundamentally why we all go to work in the morning, isn’t it? At the start of the day we ask, how am I/we going to make things better?
As a footnote we would like to congratulate everyone at Western Sussex Hospitals NHSFT for becoming the first non-specialist trust to be rated ‘outstanding’ in all five CQC domains. This comes hot-on-the-heels of Royal Papworth Hospital NHSFT becoming the first NHS hospital to be awarded ‘outstanding’ across the board. Of course, there are other smaller NHS teams that have gained ‘outstanding’ across all CQC domains, but it is worth taking a moment to search the internet and read the news reports surrounding Western Sussex and Papworth. You’ll quickly see evidence of a strong collective team spirit often found by the best in sport, plus a view that nothing is unachievable. We suspect most of their staff will be energisers not mood-hoovers. ‘Can do, not can’t’.