Audit
Audit & Quality Improvement
The aim of the audits and QI exercises will be to improve the functioning of Ammalife, and Ammalife projects. We will evaluate our projects and programmes by using multiple measures of processes and outcomes.
What is QI, and why does Ammalife need this?
QI exercises involve scanning our project environment, and other successful projects and programmes, for good ideas – when such good ideas are found, we will appraise them, adapt them (if necessary), and adopt them. The reason for this is to improve the effectiveness and the efficiency of our efforts, and to minimise risks to those we look after, as well as the carers.
In contrast with the primary goal of research, which is to discover new knowledge, the primary goal of QI is to improve performance. A great deal of resourceful effort often goes into making medical care safer and more effective. Those in a particular setting or establishment know that there are many outstanding examples of successful activities where real changes were made with verifiable impact upon patient care, but these examples are rarely disseminated such that others could draw upon this experience. The results of such improvement work are sometimes shared informally but very rarely published. Ammalife will aim to identify and use QI activities and will aim to publish useful and rigorous QI reports (QIR) so that others can also benefit from these.
What types of audits will Ammalife carry out?
There are three standard audits, which may be supplemented by other ad hoc audits, as necessary. The standard audits are:
- Ammalife activities audit – this will monitor the Ammalife activities. The findings will be published in the annual reports
- Project audits:
- OGA – ongoing audit (usually by project staff themselves, with the purpose of improving the index project)
- FA – final audit (usually by non-project staff, with the purpose of assessing the overall effectiveness of the project, and learning for the improvement of other/future projects)
- Financial audits – this will be conducted by a team led by the treasurer, and will be reported in each annual report.
