Case Study - Knowledge Sharing
Sector: Healthcare
A unique knowledge sharing project could bring big improvements to patient care in Newcastle hospitals.
Women suffering miscarriages and the staff treating them at Newcastle RVI are being interviewed in depth, and the findings evaluated by university experts to find ways of improving services and satisfaction levels.
Research midwife Alison Farnworth is conducting the interviews and getting valuable management training as part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between Newcastle University Medical School and the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
“I really appreciate this exciting chance to have an impact on care whilst simultaneously developing my own clinical, managerial and academic experience and skills,” she said.
Alison plans to complete a PhD at the end of the project, which is being supervised by the university’s Professor of Fetal Medicine, Stephen Robson, and social scientist Dr Ruth Graham.
The two-year initiative builds on the strong relationship between the university and health trust. Insights gained could lead to new models of delivery across a range of services and make a major contribution to the healthcare agenda of Newcastle Science City.
Dr Graham hopes the engagement of patients and staff in gathering high quality information will inform national healthcare policy development.
For the hospital trust, improved delivery models could bring increased patient numbers and income while also reducing staff absenteeism through greater job satisfaction.
“The whole point of a KTP is to provide academic knowledge and expertise that we hold in the university and open that up to partner organisations in the public sector as well as businesses,” said Professor Robson.
Contact us for further discussion or clarification of the University's knowledge exchange and studentship schemes.
