Prof John Boulton Director NHS Quality Improvement and Patient Safety/ Director of 1000 Lives

About me

John is a Quality Improvement Fellow and Director of ABCi (Aneurin Bevan Continuous Improvement) at Aneurin Bevan Health Board.

At the time of his fellowship, he was a Consultant Rheumatologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, one of the largest acute trusts. As a physician he works with consultant colleagues in a multidisciplinary environment, providing care to those with chronic musculoskeletal disease in the South Yorkshire region.

John completed his medical training in 1998, graduating from the University of Sheffield. As a junior doctor he realised that he wanted to do something different with his career and during his training he enrolled on an MBA course at the University of Leicester. At the same time he was able to gain practical experience in quality improvement by joining the Trust’s Improvement Team.

John remains an active member of the Improvement Team, and is currently the Clinical Lead for Quality Outpatient Services. In this role he has helped in the creation of a project aimed at delivering high quality, personalised care to those attending outpatient clinics. More specifically, John has developed an interest in the issues of flow, variation and capacity and demand within this environment.

During his year at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), John hoped to further understand how the Triple Aim Framework could be utilised to transform outpatient care within a healthcare system. In addition, he was also interested in expanding his knowledge of simulation and modelling to understand capacity and demand, as well as complex behaviours within health care systems.