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Our ambitions for quality

Quality means something different to each of us and we all have a part to play in making our services the best that they can be.

When we asked our Chief Executive what quality means to her, she said:

“Working with patients focusing on what matters to them in their time of need. Empowered, engaged teams and colleagues who feel valued, included and a strong sense of belonging. Safe, effective, efficient services that achieves the best outcomes for patients - informed by data and evidence”

In 2023 we published our Quality Strategy where we describe what are the areas where we want to make a big difference in the quality of our care. These are:

  1. Delivering safe and reliable care
  2. Becoming and organisation our patients and communities are proud of
  3. Empowered staff
  4. High quality accessible services, now and in the future

You can read about our quality strategy by following this link. 

Quality Assurance Ward Visits

The corporate team and members of the Board conduct regular unannounced visits to wards across our hospital sites. These visits, carried out by a multidisciplinary team, play a crucial role in upholding healthcare standards by assessing patient care, safety, staff practices and also patient and staff experience. They help identify areas for improvement, ensuring continuous enhancement of services and better patient outcomes.

Additionally, these visits serve as a key aspect of our quality assurance programme - reinforcing accountability and adherence to best practices. By maintaining high standards, we build public trust and confidence in our healthcare system, demonstrating our commitment to delivering safe, effective, and compassionate care.

Duty of Quality 

The Duty of Quality came into effect in April 2023. The Duty applies to health and social care across Wales. it applies to everything we do in the NHS, including clinical and non-clinical work. 

The Duty has two aims:

  1. To improve the quality of services
  2. To improve outcomes for people in Wales

To learn more about Duty of Quality, please follow this link to the Welsh Government website. 

How are we doing?

Every year we will publish a report on the quality and safety of our care. This report tells you about how we are checking the quality of our care and what we are doing to make improvements. 

One of the ways that we look at quality of care is through our spot check, or assurance systems. This means that on a regular basis, staff in services and across the organisation undertake announced and unannounced checks, where we visit an area to learn about the care that is provided.

We are proud of the improvement work we undertake in the health board. This work is led by staff within services and uses their ideas of what can work better to improve the care that we provide. 

To read our latest annual report, please follow this link. 

Want to know more?

Please get in touch, and let us know:

  • What do you want to know about the quality and safety of our care?
  • How do you want us to provide this information?

Please tell us how we can improve this page and the information we share with you. You can do this by emailing - SBU.QSIP@wales.nhs.uk

Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth a galwadau ffôn yn y Gymraeg neu'r Saesneg. Atebir gohebiaeth Gymraeg yn y Gymraeg, ac ni fydd hyn yn arwain at oedi. Mae’r dudalen hon ar gael yn Gymraeg drwy bwyso’r botwm ar y dde ar frig y dudalen.

We welcome correspondence and telephone calls in Welsh or English. Welsh language correspondence will be replied to in Welsh, and this will not lead to a delay. This page is available in Welsh by clicking ‘Cymraeg’ at the top right of this page.