Welcoming the latest round of investment in The Research Collaborative in Quality and Patient Safety (RCQPS)* funding scheme, Dr Mairead O’Driscoll, Chief Executive at the Health Research Board (HRB), said:

“This scheme delivers research in response to clear needs in quality and patient safety as identified by people working at the coal face. I believe there will be big improvements to the lives of COPD patients and trauma-informed care resulting from these two newly funded projects. The HRB is delighted to collaborate with the Health Service Executive National Quality and Patient Safety Directorate (HSE NQPSD) and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland on this important initiative.”

Applicants for this latest round of the RCQPS funding scheme, which involves collaboration between academic researchers and knowledge users, were invited to use a Quality Improvement approach to design new models of health and social care based on needs arising from direct or indirect impacts of COVID-19 in Ireland. In a highly competitive process, two awards were selected by an international panel from 31 eligible applications. They went to:

1. COPD-MAX: Community-based Optimisation Programme for respiratory disease Management and Assessment.

Academic researcher: Dr Roisin Cahalan, Senior Lecturer Physiotherapy, University of Limerick

Knowledge user: Professor Tim McDonnell, Chairman COPD Support Ireland

COPD affects approximately 340,000 people in Ireland; has the highest number of COPD in-hospital bed days in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); and is one of the most resource-intensive conditions in acute healthcare. Its effective management is a governmental priority based on minimising admissions to acute services through community-based care. COPD-MAX will co-design, implement and evaluate a novel community-based (in-person or online) exercise maintenance programme for COPD patients to optimise their wellbeing in a cost-effective way that alleviates demand on overstretched acute services. 

2. Co-developing, piloting and evaluating a trauma-informed awareness and training programme (TIP) for the acute hospital setting using Quality Improvement and Translational Simulation methods 

Academic researcher: Prof Frédérique Vallières, Associate Professor, Trinity College Dublin

Knowledge user: Clíona Ní Cheallaigh, Consultant Physician Inclusion Health Service, SJH

Severe psychological trauma is particularly common in those who are socially excluded through, for example, homelessness, addiction or poverty, the effects of which were exacerbated by COVID-19. Healthcare for these vulnerable cohorts often results in challenging situations that increase risk of avoidable patient safety events and poorer outcomes. This project will co-design, deliver, and evaluate a trauma-informed care improvement programme within acute hospital settings to address this, as well as improve staff wellbeing. Central to this is translational simulation, wherein teams of hospital staff and patient representatives train together by recreating care scenarios as realistically as possible. Repeated cycles of refining, evaluating, and reflecting on what happened in these simulations are then used to improve care.

Dr Orla Healy, National Clinical Director, HSE National Quality and Patient Safety Directorate, commented:

“Quality and Patient Safety research represents an important commitment in The Patient Safety Strategy (2019-2024). I welcome these projects as excellent examples of collaborations between academic researchers, knowledge users and patients working together to achieve translatable findings for improvements in the quality of care.”

Dr Terry McWade, CEO of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, said:

“We are proud to be part of the RCQPS and the vital research it funds. COVID-19 has required health and social care systems to rapidly adapt and establish new processes and procedures for patients and staff. These projects provide huge opportunity to learn from these adaptations and improve quality and patient safety beyond the pandemic.”

Notes to editors:

*Established in 2013 to advance nationally relevant research in quality and patient safety (QPS), the RCQPS is a collaborative initiative between the HRB, the HSE NQPSD and the RCPI. Co-funded by the HRB and the HSE NQPSD, the RCPI manage the application and peer review process and the HRB manage funded projects.

For more information on the scheme, please contact Nyasha Makawa rcqps@rcpi.ie

About the HRB:

The HRB is Ireland’s lead public funding agency supporting innovative health research and delivering data and evidence that improves people’s health and patient care. We are committed to putting people first, and ensuring data and evidence are used in policy and practice to overcome health challenges, advance health systems, and benefit society and the economy.

About the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland:

The RCPI is Ireland’s largest postgraduate medical training body providing specialist medical training in Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Public Health, Occupational Health Medicine, Pathology and Paediatrics as well as an extensive range of lifelong learning opportunities for doctors and allied healthcare professionals. The college has over 11,000 Trainees, Members and Fellows across the world and is an advocate to improve patient care.

About the HSE NQPSD Team:

The HSE National Quality and Patient Safety Directorate (NQPSD) within the Office of the Chief Clinical Officer, works in partnership with HSE operations, patient representatives and other internal and external partners to improve patient safety and the quality of care by: building quality and patient safety capacity and capability in practice; using data to inform improvements; developing and monitoring the incident management framework and open disclosure policy and guidance; providing a platform for sharing and learning; reducing common causes of harm and enabling safe systems of care and sustainable improvements.  The work of NQPSD is anchored in the HSE Patient Safety Strategy 2019-2024 and aims to embed a culture of patient safety improvement at every level of the health and social care service.