Since the first International Forum on Quality & Safety held in London 30 years ago, the Forum has continued to bring together clinicians, policymakers, and improvers from around the world. This year was no exception: over 2000 delegates gathered in Oslo for three inspiring and thought-provoking days of discussion, learning, and collaboration.
The theme of this year’s Forum, ‘The power of us: strengthening systems and deepening resilience to improve quality in health and care’, emphasised our collective responsibility to design safe and effective healthcare systems. It started with a series of pre-conference sessions that gave delegates the opportunity to learn about the Norwegian healthcare system, and to participate in several improvement workshops. What followed was a rich and varied programme of presentations, workshops, and debate. It would be impossible to do justice to the breadth of opportunities on offer at the Forum, but in this blog, I will share some of the key messages that I took away this year.
The Importance of Listening
The conference began with a powerful session led by Kirsti Skogholm, who courageously shared her reflections on healthcare in Norway following the deaths of her twin daughters, Mina and Mille. She spoke about her grief, the experience of not being heard, and of being perceived as a hinderance to care rather than a concerned mother advocating for her children. She also reflected on the experience of being offered medication to manage her emotions when what she wanted was compassion, reassurance and human connection – a hand to hold or someone to listen. Her testimony was a profound reminder of the central role that listening plays in compassionate healthcare. It set the tone for the Forum, highlighting the importance of lived experience and involving patients and those close to them in the co-design of resilient healthcare systems.
The politics of health and healthcare
Another central theme to the Forum was the role of formal political systems and government policy, alongside everyday interpersonal and institutional power dynamics in healthcare. During the Forum, Don Berwick’s keynote lecture traced the evolution of the quality & safety movement over the last two decades. He reflected on the successes of earlier intervention-focussed improvement efforts that had achieved impressive results – substantial reductions in catheter-related bloodstream infections on ICU, to name one of many. Whilst these successes demonstrated the power of targeted, evidence-based interventions, he highlighted how the field had subsequently evolved into something more ambitious: a holistic and collaborative endeavour aiming to catalyse system change and influence the building blocks of health.
These themes continued in a lively and thought-provoking debate that considered the motion: ‘This house believes politics is the enemy of improvement’. Both sides agreed, unquestionably, that politics does influence health. However, debate shifted to whether political short-termism is a hinderance to improvement, or whether political will is an enabler of positive reform. There was little separating the sides in the audience vote before and after the debate, likely reflecting the strands of truth in both sentiments, but the marginal victors were those arguing in favour of the motion.
Celebrating the 30th International Forum
To mark the 30th International Forum, the achievements of individuals and teams working at the forefront of quality and safety were celebrated through a series of awards. Overall, the Forum was an excellent opportunity to learn about the latest advances in quality and safety, whilst also allowing space to reflect on the challenges that remain. As planning turns to next year’s gathering in Lisbon, I am sure that the Forum will continue to inspire progress and reflection within the field.