Celebrating 10 years of excellence in practice at Teesside University

Clinical and senior managers, leaders and frontline staff, service users and the voluntary/independent sector in health and social care converged on Teesside University to celebrate a decade of learning and sharing through the Excellence in Practice Accreditation Scheme (EPAS).

EPAS is a developmental and quality assurance framework designed to demonstrate the level of excellence of care provision and supports organisations and teams to enhance the standards of care they provide.

Dr Robert McSherry, founder of EPAS and Professor of Nursing and Practice Development in the University’s School of Health & Social Care, said: 'We would not be here today to celebrate 10 years of learning and sharing without the engagement and support of individual people - users, carers and health and social care staff who have enabled EPAS to become renowned for supporting and facilitating individuals, teams and organisations in the quest for excellence in practice.'

To date, since its launch in 2003 a consistent number of teams and organisations have continued to engage with EPAS. The majority of these teams and organisations are from the NHS, independent and education sectors, from a range of services including acute, diabetes, ophthalmology, Community Specialist Macmillan Services, mental health, forensics, Child Adolescence and Mental Health (CAMHS), Mental Health Services for Older People (MHSOP) and Integrated Mental Health Service Education.

The celebration and review event held at Teesside University involved learning and sharing from individuals and teams who have engaged with EPAS over the years.

Martin Barkley, Chief Executive of Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust, talked about the impact that EPAS has had on the quality of care and patient safety within his organisation.

Colin Ovington, Director of Nursing and Midwifery at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, highlighted the importance of learning and sharing from his experience of leading innovation and change within the organisation.

Lynne Hall, of Health Education England, the national leadership organisation for education, training and workforce development in the health sector, identified the importance of addressing the challenges and opportunities in fostering excellence in practice in the future Other speakers included Professor Paul Keane, OBE, Dean of the University’s School of Health & Social Care and Professor Aidan Mullan, Former Director of Nursing and Patient Safety North East Strategic Health Authority, now at Teesside University.

Delegates commented on the quality of the event and how the learning and sharing from such occasions is critical to highlight and celebrate excellence in practice.

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