Healthcare Performance Improvement Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Quality Improvement Manager, Clinical Service Manager and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-HSM-025

Before you join: Participants should have experience working in a healthcare, public health, social care or health-related programme setting.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Healthcare providers must improve patient outcomes, safety, access and flow while managing finite staff, beds, budgets and diagnostic capacity. Activity targets alone do not show whether care is reliable, equitable or free from avoidable harm. Performance improvement work gives managers and clinical teams a disciplined way to identify service problems, understand variation, test changes and sustain better results without shifting problems elsewhere in the system.

This course teaches participants to frame an improvement opportunity, map care processes, analyse root causes and select measures that show whether a change is working. Participants use the IHI Model for Improvement, PDSA cycles, Lean methods, statistical process control and failure mode analysis. They learn to build improvement charters, driver diagrams, process maps, measurement plans and control plans. Attention is given to patient experience, health equity, clinical safety, multidisciplinary working and the practical challenges of changing established routines.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with healthcare cases, facilitated group analysis, measurement interpretation, process mapping, simulation and structured application planning. Cases may include reducing outpatient waiting times, preventing medication errors, improving discharge reliability, increasing vaccination uptake or reducing diagnostic turnaround time. Participants leave with a workplace improvement pack containing a defined problem statement, improvement charter, process map, driver diagram, measurement plan and first-cycle PDSA test plan that can be adapted for their own service.

The course suits professionals responsible for service quality, clinical operations, patient safety, performance reporting or improvement projects in hospitals, primary care, public health, social care and health-related NGOs.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess service performance using Donabedian measures, balancing measures and variation analysis
  • Map patient pathways using process maps, swimlane diagrams and value stream maps
  • Design an improvement charter with a SMART aim, scope, drivers and governance
  • Build a measurement plan with operational definitions, data sources and sampling rules
  • Run PDSA cycles using predictions, small-scale tests and documented learning
  • Apply Lean methods to identify waste, bottlenecks, queues and capacity constraints
  • Lead stakeholder engagement using ADKAR, RACI and change readiness assessment
  • Produce a control plan for sustaining and spreading an evidence-based service change

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Frame service problems as measurable improvement aims rather than broad operational concerns
  • Interpret run charts and control charts with greater confidence during performance reviews
  • Lead multidisciplinary discussions using a shared process map and driver diagram
  • Test changes on a small scale before committing staff and budget to wider rollout
  • Build a credible improvement pack for promotion, appraisal or project approval discussions

For your organisation

  • Faster identification of bottlenecks causing delays, queues, repeat work and missed appointments
  • More reliable monitoring of safety, quality, access and patient experience measures
  • Reduced risk of local changes creating unintended pressure elsewhere in care pathways
  • Stronger ownership of improvement actions across clinical, operational and support teams
  • Sustained service changes through defined standards, review routines and corrective actions

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define a healthcare improvement problem using quality dimensions, system measures and clear boundaries.

  • Healthcare quality dimensions: safety, effectiveness, patient-centredness, timeliness, efficiency and equity
  • Donabedian structure, process and outcome measures for service performance
  • Balancing measures prevent local gains from causing system harm
  • Translating strategic aims into measurable improvement charters and boundaries
  • Equity stratification identifies outcome gaps by population and access route
  • Operational definitions make numerator, denominator, inclusion and exclusion rules explicit

Participants can map a patient pathway and identify process failures, delays and contributing causes.

  • Process mapping follows patient, information and material flows from referral to discharge
  • Swimlane maps expose handoffs, queues, rework and unclear ownership
  • Value stream mapping separates value-adding steps from delay and waste
  • Spaghetti diagrams reveal avoidable movement within clinics, wards and laboratories
  • Root cause analysis distinguishes proximate causes from contributory system conditions
  • Five Whys and fishbone diagrams organise causal hypotheses for testing

Participants can construct an improvement charter with a defined aim, driver logic and accountable governance.

  • SMART aim statements specify population, outcome, target and deadline
  • Driver diagrams connect primary drivers, change ideas and measurable outcomes
  • Stakeholder analysis identifies sponsors, clinical champions, resisters and affected groups
  • Charter scope defines exclusions, decision rights, resources and escalation routes
  • RACI matrices assign accountable ownership for multidisciplinary improvement work
  • Change readiness assessments test leadership support, data access and capacity

Participants can design practical measures and use time-series data to judge improvement.

  • Outcome, process and balancing measures aligned to each driver
  • Operational measure specifications define data source, frequency and responsible owner
  • Sampling plans balance measurement burden, timeliness and decision confidence
  • Data collection sheets reduce missing values and inconsistent categorisation
  • Run charts display median shifts, trends and non-random variation
  • Statistical process control charts distinguish common-cause from special-cause variation

Participants can plan, conduct and document small-scale tests of service changes.

  • PDSA cycles test changes at small scale before wider adoption
  • Prediction statements make expected effects testable before implementation
  • Rapid-cycle testing records plan, observations, learning and next adaptation
  • Change concepts generate interventions for flow, reliability and patient engagement
  • Standard work converts successful tests into repeatable frontline routines
  • Adoption, adaptation and abandonment decisions use predefined evidence thresholds

Participants can identify waste, bottlenecks and demand-capacity mismatches in healthcare services.

  • Lean eight wastes identified in outpatient, pharmacy and diagnostic pathways
  • 5S workplace organisation improves visual control, access and error prevention
  • Visual management boards show demand, capacity, constraints and daily actions
  • Demand-capacity analysis identifies bottlenecks, queues and staffing mismatch
  • Little's Law relates work-in-progress, throughput and waiting time
  • Daily huddles escalate barriers through tiered management routines

Participants can analyse safety risks and select reliability methods for preventing avoidable harm.

  • Incident reporting data identifies recurring harm patterns and reporting bias
  • FMEA scores failure modes by severity, occurrence and detectability
  • Safety culture supports speaking up, learning reviews and just culture
  • Trigger tools detect adverse events missed by voluntary reports
  • Human factors principles reduce slips, lapses and communication failures
  • Closed-loop communication strengthens handovers, escalation and critical-result reporting

Participants can incorporate patient experience and equity evidence into service improvement decisions.

  • Patient journey mapping captures experience, burden, choice and access barriers
  • Co-design methods involve patients, carers and staff in service redesign
  • Health equity impact assessment anticipates differential effects of proposed changes
  • Stratified measures reveal variation by ethnicity, deprivation, disability and language
  • Teach-back testing improves understanding of care plans and discharge instructions
  • Feedback loops close the gap between complaints, surveys and improvement priorities

Participants can plan engagement, behaviour change support and ownership for an improvement initiative.

  • ADKAR assesses awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement needs
  • Influence mapping plans engagement with clinicians, managers and union representatives
  • Implementation barriers classified using capability, opportunity and motivation factors
  • Training, prompts and audit feedback support reliable behaviour change
  • Resistance conversations address workload concerns, professional autonomy and competing priorities
  • Sustainability plans assign monitoring ownership, review cadence and response actions

Participants can establish control arrangements and a workplace plan for sustaining successful changes.

  • Control plans specify standard, measure, owner, threshold and corrective action
  • Benefits realisation tracks clinical, operational, financial and experience outcomes
  • Monthly performance reviews use annotated charts and exception-based discussion
  • Audit cycles verify adherence to redesigned processes and documentation standards
  • Spread plans assess context, readiness, adaptation limits and resource requirements
  • Personal application plans prioritise a workplace improvement opportunity and first steps

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Healthcare improvement charter template
  2. Patient pathway process map
  3. Driver diagram model
  4. Measurement plan and operational definition sheet
  5. PDSA test cycle template
  6. Sustainability and control plan

Who should attend

  • Quality Improvement Manager — needs structured methods for leading measurable service changes
  • Clinical Service Manager — must improve flow, access, safety and team performance
  • Patient Safety Officer — investigates harm patterns and prioritises risk reduction actions
  • Head Nurse or Ward Manager — coordinates reliable frontline care processes and staffing routines
  • Healthcare Operations Manager — manages demand, capacity, waiting times and operational bottlenecks
  • Public Health or NGO Programme Manager — improves service delivery outcomes across funded programmes

Skills and tools covered

Healthcare process mappingImprovement measurement designPDSA cycle testingLean service improvementPatient safety analysisChange implementation planning

Tools and standards

IHI Model for Improvement, PDSA cycle, Statistical Process Control, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short briefings to introduce methods, followed by healthcare cases, group analysis and guided application. Participants interpret service data, create process maps, identify causes of delay or harm, and select measures for improvement. Simulations show how PDSA testing, visual management and escalation routines work under realistic operational pressure. Facilitated discussions examine clinical engagement, patient involvement, equity and resistance to change. Participants develop an application plan for a service issue relevant to their own role.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience working in a healthcare, public health, social care or health-related programme setting. Familiarity with local service processes, routine performance reports or quality indicators is helpful. Participants should be able to interpret basic tables, percentages and charts. No prior training in Lean, Six Sigma, statistical process control, PDSA or formal project management is required. Advanced statistical knowledge, clinical qualifications and responsibility for a current improvement project are not required, although bringing a real service issue will help participants apply the methods.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants need experience of healthcare, public health, social care or health programme delivery and should be comfortable reading basic performance data. No previous Lean, Six Sigma, PDSA, project management or statistical process control training is required.

Bring an example of a service problem, performance report, patient pathway or improvement idea from your workplace if you can. Confidential patient information, identifiable incident reports and restricted data should not be brought to the course.

It is designed for quality, safety, clinical operations, nursing, service management, public health and NGO programme professionals. It is especially useful for people who must improve a process but need a clearer method for selecting measures and testing change.

This course focuses on practical healthcare performance improvement, combining Lean, PDSA, measurement, patient safety and change implementation. It does not train participants for a Six Sigma belt, nor does it focus mainly on schedules, budgets and project documentation.

Participants can use the templates to address a defined issue such as delayed discharge, missed appointments, medication administration errors or long diagnostic turnaround times. The course builds a workplace improvement pack that can support discussion with managers, clinical teams and sponsors.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours, excluding breaks. Time is divided between method briefings, healthcare case work, group analysis, simulations, data interpretation and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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