Each month, the network gets together in a 'Meet Up' to share and learn together, here you can find all the content
Building Equity of Access into Outpatients
Presenter: Dr Ben Holden, NIHR ARC NWL Knowledge Mobilisation Co-Lead
In the inaugural QIN 'Meet Up', we heard from Dr Ben Holden, a physician and improver from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. He talked through the challenges and learning from a recent Quality Improvement project that aimed to improve access to outpatient appointments for people living in the most deprived areas of London. The project focuses on improving equity of access to care and improving efficiency by reducing the number of missed appointments.
View the presentation: Building Equity of Access into Outpatients (.pdf)
The process of sustaining change
Presenter: Dr Laura Lennox, NIHR ARC NWL, Implementation Lead
This presentation unpacks the ‘process of sustaining’ with Dr Laura Lennox presenting a talk titled: 'Identifying threats to sustainability and the strategies used to address them: a longitudinal multiple case study.' In the talk she looked into her top five sustainability challenges: workforce stability, change timelines, organisational priorities, stakeholder support and capacity for improvement.
View the presentation: Identifying threats to sustainability and the strategies used to address them: a longitudinal multiple case study (.pdf)
Improvement is part of everything we do
Presenter: Joelle Chalmer, Improvement Lead, Imperial College Healthcare Trust
This session will cover Imperial College Healthcare Trust's strategic objective 'Improvement for all', including the concepts underpinning improvement being part of everything we do. This extends beyond improvement methods and tools and encompasses being clear on our priorities at all levels of the organisation and addressing our rhythms and routines for delivering improvement.
Presenter: Dr Hamish Clark, GPST3, Imperial VTS
View the presentation: Lifestyle Coaching for Patients with Depression and Anxiety (.pdf)
A Whistle-Stop Tour of Disparities in Women’s Health Research and Bridging the Gap Between Evidence and Practice
Presenters:
Dr Sophie McFarland [Left above] Registered Dietician Primary Care Dietitian Lead, Research Mobilisation Lead and Multi-Professional Education Lead
Lauren Trepte [Left below] Registered Midwife RM7 Clinical Research Team Leader Women's Health at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust
This QIN Meet Up was a fast-paced and insightful session exploring the persistent disparities in women's health research — from historical underrepresentation to the challenges of translating findings into real-world impact.
Lauren and Sophie highlighted the key barriers that prevent research from informing practice and policy and introduced practical solutions through knowledge mobilisation (KM) strategies. Sophie [pictured left, above] and Lauren [pictured left, below], Knowledge Mobilisation Fellows for the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Northwest London (ARC NWL), shared how they are embedding KM approaches into their respective women's health projects.
Attendees benefitted from an engaging and relaxed environment with opportunities for discussion, questions, and collaboration. Researchers, clinicians, policymakers and those interested in improving women’s health outcomes took the opportunity to share valuable insights and took the chance to connect.
View the presentation: Mind The Gap - The Women's Health Research Deficit (.pdf)
Meet Up #5 (October 2025)
The Current State of Quality Improvement Research
A presentation and interactive discussion on the latest research into quality improvement success in UK health and care settings
Presenters:
· Karuna Chellen [left above] is Service Lead in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy at Imperial College NHS Trust, Research and Education Manager at NIHR ARC NWL and an Improvement Leader Fellow with an interest in health systems and public health.
· Dr Natasha Dsouza [left below] is a GP by background and is a Researcher based at NIHR ARC NWL within the Department of Primary Care and Public Health at Imperial College London.
An ‘open table’ discussion around what improvers perceive as the current impact and barriers to successful QI projects. Building on a recent literature review, Karuna and Natasha outlined the critical research landscape related to barriers and facilitators of successful QI projects. They asked asked attendees to contribute by sharing their thoughts and experiences. Through listening to reflections on the current data and personal experiences, they stimulated a discussion to help us all share and learn together.
Attendees received a refresher on how to apply research methods to gain insights into the QI landscape and will connect with individuals interested in improving health and care services from diverse backgrounds and professions.
View the presentation: The Current State of Quality Improvement Research (.pdf)
Next Meet Up:
Wednesday, 19 November 2025 (12 - 1pm)
Following Meet Up Dates:
Monday, 15 December 2025 (12 - 1pm)
Thursday, 22 January 2025 (12 - 1pm)
We're always happy to hear from potential future presenters, so if you have a quality improvement, implementation or knowledge mobilisation experience to share, please get in contact with Nick Hewlett ( n.hewlett@imperial.ac.uk )