A Proposal to Introduce a Fast-Track Chest X-ray Pathway for Elderly Inpatients with Suspected Chest Infections to Reduce Time to Diagnosis and Treatment on the Medical Ward

Service Improvement Report You are required to propose a quality improvement to current practice / service provision. The proposal takes the form of a 2500-word report to a service manager/funding body, etc. The work will identify and contextualise a specific area of practice to which there is a multi-professional dimension and critically appraise the justification and process of implementation of such a change, incorporating appropriate management and leadership concepts taught in the module. Your submission must include: A written report (2500 words max) to be submitted to a hypothetical Manager / Head of Service that presents a strategy for service improvement. This person will not necessarily be profession-specific to your given profession; a Manager / Head of Service will not always be from the same professional background to yours. The work MUST: • be patient-centred • identify x1 small-scale problem in your fictitious ward/working area and a proposed solution to the issue (this is your service improvement project) • identify local and national rationale for your service improvement project – WHY is the current situation not best practice? • explore inter-professional dimensions of the situation and the roles and responsibilities of professionals involved in the project – this will be the local team, such as professionals on one ward, rather than multiple teams across a Trust or settings • apply x1 CHANGE MODEL to guide you through your proposed change • apply management concepts to facilitate the strategy. To support this, tools such as a SWOT analysis, a Force Field Analysis, etc. are useful • consider challenges/barriers to project implementation and how these might be managed • utilise published work to support discussions, with some critique of literature included Word limit: Service Improvement Report: 2500 words maximum. Aspects of the assignment NOT included in the word count: • To/from information • Assignment title • Contents page • Executive summary • Reference list • Appendices Words will start being counted after the Executive Summary (when the main body of the assignment will start) until the end of the Conclusion. Words within tables, diagrams, columns, figures, images, etc. will be included. Write the assignment using a structured approach rather than a traditional essay format. You are expected to include critical analysis of your proposed service improvement, using management theory and at least one change model to guide your discussion. Use tables, figures, diagrams, or charts to present tools such as SWOT analysis, Force Field Analysis, Stakeholder Analysis, or similar management frameworks. These visual elements will help demonstrate your analytical thinking and strengthen your argument. All content, including text within tables, figures, and diagrams, counts toward the 2500-word limit. Keep your writing concise and focused on meeting the marking criteria. Avoid unnecessary description—prioritise analysis and application of theory to your chosen issue. MAKE my graphs and tables What is the purpose of this assessment? The purpose of this assignment is to encourage you to consider the various elements of a service improvement project and to consider the process and tools necessary to carry this out. Additionally, it provides you with the opportunity to creatively reflect and consider how you could go about implementing a much-needed change based on scenarios or experiences you have witnessed first hand during your practice placements. Some key aspects to consider: • Have you provided context to the local situation – what is the problem? What is informing you that there is a problem? • Have you justified why the present situation may not be best practice with respect to government, agency and professional guidelines, legislation, and research? • Have you clearly described your proposal /strategy for service improvement? • Are you being patient-centric in your plan development? • Is it inter-professional in nature? Consider the roles and responsibilities of others in the project, is this clear? • Have you identified potential limitations or barriers to the project? Have you discussed how you propose to manage some of them? • How will you measure or check that a change has occurred in response to the implementation of the project? Are there any measures you are planning to complete? When might these be performed? How should I format the work? The assignment MUST also include the following: – An Executive Summary (please note, references are not required within an Executive Summary) – Rationale – Critical discussion – Conclusion – In-text citations and a completed reference list -appendices Use HARVARD REFERENCING IN THIS WORK. All your references should only be from the UK. 👥 Inter-Professional Team Involvement This project is collaborative and rooted in inter-professional working: THIS AN EXAMPLE Profession Role in the Project Ward Nurses Early recognition, escalate to doctors, prepare patients for imaging Junior Doctors Review clinical signs, submit prioritised imaging request Radiographers Triage and prioritise flagged requests; perform imaging Porters Ensure prompt transport to radiology Consultants/Physios Act quickly on results for treatment planning 📚 National & Local Rationale — Must Be Included You must justify your proposed improvement using: • National guidelines or frameworks (e.g. NICE, NHS Long Term Plan, CQC, professional bodies) • Local data or audit findings (e.g. Trust policies, quality dashboards, staff/patient feedback) These sources should explain: • Why the current practice is not meeting standards • Why change is urgently needed or recommended Use this rationale to strengthen your case for funding or approval. Use statiscis and everything. All soruces from the UK only regarding these bodies. ive also added a PowerPoint of how its supposed to be written Ive added some examples of papers to get inspirations. Do not entirely copy them. Just get some ideas. Make sure you use UK English no Americanized English.