How Q and improvement can transform our health care system
Discover how improvement approaches and Q can drive the implementation of the 10 Year Health Plan
Introduction
The new 10-year plan for the NHS in England aims to transform the health care sector. Meeting this ambition will need a fresh approach to making effective change happen. It will need to be long-lasting and engage the staff that are expected to deliver it. How the ideas in the 10-year plan are translated into delivery will be the key to success.
That’s where improvement approaches and Q can help. Improvement science is driven by co-production and data, meaning the transformational ambition of policymakers can be realised and effective.
Our members have the expertise and experience to implement changes effectively, mobilise staff so they are engaged and keep the momentum going so changes become the everyday business of the NHS.
Take a look at our briefings and evidence that share effective approaches for transforming our health care system.
Explore our briefings and evidence
Our recent workshop gathered insight including what is needed to utilise the full benefit of Q and the improvement movement.
The Q members who attended the workshop highlighted what would be needed to ensure the full value of improvement approaches could be utilised for successful implementation.
The ambition of the 10-Year Health Plan will need to integrate different approaches to change: mobilising to inspire, delivering specific priorities through change programmes and changing how we deliver to embed different ways of operating. In this December 2024 piece, Q’s Managing Director, Penny Pereira, sets out what is needed to support this.
How the 10-Year Health Plan is implemented has the potential to make or break its impact. In this May 2025 piece, Penny Pereira, Q’s Managing Director, discusses the action needed to realise the potential of improvement methods at scale.
Read Penny’s piece on making the most of improvement approaches
A large part of the 10-Year Health Plan will centre on the government’s vision for neighbourhood health. In this March 2025 piece, Bryan Jones, Senior Improvement Fellow at the Health Foundation, and Penny Pereira, Q’s Managing Director, discuss leveraging improvement expertise in implementing neighbourhood health models.
Read Bryan and Penny’s piece on improvement and neighbourhood health models
This analysis sets out five key actions policymakers and organisation, system and improvement leaders need to take to develop and implement a more holistic, quality-focused approach to productivity.
Read our joint analysis with the Health Foundation.
Grappling with immediate pressures alongside long-term system transformation can make it challenging to prioritise improving quality of care. Senior leaders of health care organisations need strategic tools that are flexible, enabling them to mobilise their organisations to support short-term priorities and systemic long-term change. This is where a Quality Management System (QMS) approach can help.
Find out more about our findings from organisations across the UK who are implementing a QMS.
The Leading Improvement in Health and Care podcast explores the learning and experiences of people making change across systems. Hosted by Penny Pereira, our Managing Director of Q, and Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of NHS Confederation, each episode aims to spotlight where improvement is working well, as well as the challenges along the way.
Listen to episodes on topics such as productivity, equity and mobilising change.
This report, written and researched by Sir Chris Ham and jointly commissioned by the NHS Confederation, the Health Foundation and the Q community, reviews the experience of a number of ICSs identified as being at the forefront of this work, focusing on the approaches they have taken and the results achieved.
There is growing evidence that effectively engaging staff in change increases the likelihood of success, especially in health care settings. We convened more than 300 people working across the health and care sector to share their experiences of engagement to inform a new definition of good practice and tools to measure engagement quality.
Explore the principles and tools for engaging staff in major change
This report from NHS Confederation and Q shares how networks and peer learning can support leading and delivering improvement across systems.
The unique role Q can play
We are directly connected to diverse viewpoints, from a variety of roles and organisations across the sector: on the front-line, as well as in leadership positions. Our work with national and regional partner organisations means that their knowledge, perspectives and priorities inform us too. We’re able to take a ‘whole world’ view, connecting experiences from individuals driving improvement and transformation on the ground with organisational and system-level perspectives. It gives us a real-time understanding of the context, challenges, and pressures that you’re facing.
You can find out more about how we help organisations address the barriers preventing organisations embedding improvements for patients and staff.
Discover more
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Q members reflect on the NHS 10-Year Health Plan for England: key themes
Opinion piece 12 August 2025 6 minute readThe key themes that emerged from Q members’ reflections on the 10-year plan. -
New report: Supporting system improvement through peer learning
News 29 April 2025 3 minute readNew insight from NHS Confederation and Q shares how networks and peer learning can support leading and delivering improvement across systems