Training courses

Life QIWhether you have just a few minutes to spare, a couple of hours, a day, or more, we have quality improvement (QI) training to suit you.

You can watch our Bitesize QI animations at any time, with each one running for just a few minutes. Our QI Lite is a two-hour course run virtually and QI Fundamentals is a one day interactive course, held in person at our Trinity House office in Ashford, Kent. It is a great option for those preferring to learn by practical application.

QI Together is our new package where teams at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust are nominated to take part. QI Together is designed to empower and enable teams to work on the improvements they want to see at a local level. They start the course with an issue or a problem they would like to work on and are fully supported over several month by our QI team.

All of our training fits with our We Care Strategy which sees us working to improve patient care and the working lives of our colleagues, focussing on the things that really matter.

Hundreds of our colleagues from across many services and all divisions have graduated from our QI training and this has enabled and encouraged them to go on and implement great ideas to improve patient care, patient and carer experience, our community hospital wards, their teams and departments and the working lives of our colleagues.

We look forward to welcoming you onto one of our courses and to see the great things you achieve.

Our courses are mainly for our colleagues at KCHFT, but most are also open to partner organisations, volunteers, patients and others who use our services. They are for anyone who would like to get involved and to find out more about quality improvement (QI).

Courses

We run a range of quality improvement training courses. Please get in touch to find out more. 

QI Lite

QI Lite is a two-hour, interactive course on MS Teams, which gives you an understanding of QI and some of the most frequently used QI tools.

During QI Lite we demonstrate how to take a project from start to finish, including the importance of collecting data and evidencing improvement. We also introduce you to QI tools which can be used to help, including driver diagrams, process mapping, plan do study act (PDSA) cycles and more.

QI Lite will give you the confidence to start having improvement conversations, get involved in a QI project, or to start one of your own.

Colleagues at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust can book QI training via our Training Appraisal and Performance system (TAPs). If you are not one of our colleagues, but would like to do our QI training, please get in touch by email or phone.

Below are the QI Lite dates coming up:

  • Tuesday, 23 April 2024 - 10:30am to 12:30pm
  • Thursday, 16 May 2024 - 10am to 12noon
  • Tuesday, 11 June 2024 - 1 to 3pm
  • Wednesday, 10 July 2024 - 10am to 12noon
  • Tuesday, 17 September 2024 - 11am to - 1pm
  • Tuesday, 22 October 2024 - 1.30 to 3.30pm
  • Wednesday, 27 November 2024 - 10am to 12noon

Fundamentals one-day course

QI Fundamentals is a one day course which runs from 9am until 4.30pm and is held at our Trinity House offices in Ashford, Kent.

You will learn what quality improvement is and why we use this approach to make things better for our patients and our colleagues.

The course allows you to learn via practical application and includes an introduction to QI, the opportunity to learn about QI tools and will give you the confidence to get involved in a QI project, or to start one of your own.

Hundreds of our colleagues from all divisions have successfully completed QI Fundamentals and the course is open to all. Please note, if a course is fully booked, we can add your name to a waiting list, as we do have late cancellations, so you may still get a place. Contact the QI team to be added.

Please note, QI Fundamentals and QI Lite include a lot of the same content, so we would not recommend attending both. QI Fundamentals is not a follow-on course from QI Lite, but instead gives participants the time and space to practically apply the tools.

Colleagues at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust can now book QI training via our Training Appraisal and Performance system (TAPs). If you are not one of our colleagues, but would like to do our QI training, please get in touch by email or phone.

It’s a fun and interactive course to learn the key elements of QI.

Please note: Fundamentals courses run from 9am, for registration, with a prompt 9.30am start and aim to finish at 4.30pm. All courses are held in Rooms 6 and 7 at Trinity House, 110-120 Upper Pemberton, Kennington, Ashford, TN25 4AZ.

Fundamentals courses coming up:                

  • Tuesday, 30 April 2024
  • Thursday, 23 May 2024
  • Thursday, 4 July 2024
  • Friday, 27 September 2024
  • Thursday, 17 October 2024
  • Tuesday, 12 November 2024

Fundamentals gives an overview of the quality, service improvement and redesign (QSIR) programme and is focussed on tried and tested improvement tools and approaches which have been successfully used in the UK and internationally. The workshop highlights how you can bring about improvements in the services you provide and those you support.

Bitesize QI

Bitesize QI is for those who want a quick run-down on the most commonly used quality improvement tools.

Each animation is around five minutes long and explains how to use a tool, why you might want to use a particular tool and how it could help.

Please see our Bitesize QI animations on our Tools page. We are continually adding to the animations available.

1. Choose a course

Decide which course to attend.

2. Get agreement

Get agreement from your line manager.

3. Book your place

Book your place on TAP's (KCHFT colleagues) or via email.

Working with our partners

Colleagues from partner organisations are welcome to the training events we are holding in quality improvement (QI) – as well as our own staff.

For those interested in learning more about QI we offer a one-day QI fundamentals course and a five-day quality service improvement and redesign (QSIR) practitioners course.

Medical Director Sarah Phillips, said: “We’re offering the training to colleagues external to KCHFT to promote collaboration. Making use of the same tools and techniques provides consistency which benefits all.”

Our own colleagues and external colleagues who would like to book or to find out more should email the Quality Improvement Team on kentchft.qi@nhs.net.