Donald Berwick, President of the internationally-renowned Institute for Healthcare Improvement, is due to speak at the launch of Warwick Clinical Systems Improvement at Warwick Medical School on January 23.

Warwick CSI has been developed by a collaboration between Warwick Medical School, Warwick Manufacturing Group, Warwick Business School and the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement. This new initiative aims to provide better and safer healthcare by learning lessons from public and private sectors outside health to improve processes, leadership, knowledge transfer and systems design. In particular, Warwick CSI will tailor systems developed in manufacturing industries for the NHS.

Warwick CSI has an active programme of courses and research areas include patient safety, resilience and mistake-proofing, developing new ways for safer systems of care and the use of technology to support improvement.

On the day of the launch, organisers will put forward a proposal for a national curriculum in clinical systems improvement.

Warwick CSI is being led by Professor Matthew Cooke, Professor of Emergency Medicine at Warwick Medical School. He said the visit from Professor Berwick was a coup for the burgeoning programme. "We are delighted Professor Berwick is taking such a prominent role in the launch of Warwick CSI. Through this new initiative we will provide education and training, as well as further develop our innovative and active research programme that has the potential to make dramatic improvements in the quality of healthcare."

Professor Cooke added: "By consistently and reliably delivering, to every patient, what is known to work we could make greater improvements in health, improve patient safety and reduce health acquired infections . Delivering known treatments to every patient could have a greater impact than most new inventions or new drugs."

Professor Berwick, who is also Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, will deliver a seminar on Improvement Science at the launch. The following day he is due to receive an honorary degree from the University of Warwick.

For further information please contact:

Kelly Parkes, Communications Officer, Warwick Medical School,
k.e.parkes@warwick.ac.uk, 0247 615 0483, 07824 540863

Peter Dunn, Press and Media Relations Manager
University of Warwick, mobile 07767 655860
02476 523708 p.j.dunn@warwick.ac.uk