Early Career Researcher 2021
Dr Jan van der Scheer
The Healthcare Improvement Studies (THIS) Institute
Department of Public Health and Primary Care
School of Clinical Medicine
The Vice-Chancellor's Awards
for Research Impact and Engagement
About the researcher
Dr Jan van der Scheer is a Senior Research Associate at The Healthcare Improvement Studies (THIS) Institute. He is particularly interested in creating research and implementation models for sustainable improvements of healthcare systems using co-production and consensus-building methods.
Jan’s current work focusses on helping to improve maternity care, for example as part of the Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) programme, which aims to support maternity services to adopt improved clinical practices by providing co-designed, national clinical protocols and tools.
The Vice-Chancellor's Awards
for Research Impact and Engagement
About the researcher
Dr Jan van der Scheer is a Senior Research Associate at The Healthcare Improvement Studies (THIS) Institute. He is particularly interested in creating research and implementation models for sustainable improvements of healthcare systems using co-production and consensus-building methods.
Jan’s current work focusses on helping to improve maternity care, for example as part of the Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) programme, which aims to support maternity services to adopt improved clinical practices by providing co-designed, national clinical protocols and tools.
Although he is at an early stage of his career, I have no doubt that Jan is set to become a significant academic figure engaging with those of us working in the field: he is a rising star.
Professor Tim Draycott, Vice President for Clinical Quality
Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists
What is the research?
Building solutions together: improving management of maternity emergencies during COVID-19
When the pandemic hit, many established clinical processes needed to be adapted for COVID scenarios. But those adaptations needed to be made quickly, taking advantage of the best possible expertise, and in a way that avoided the waste associated with every unit having to come up with its own solution.
Jan van der Scheer and his colleagues at THIS Institute, together with stakeholder organisations, developed a new approach to bringing people together to co-design solutions collaboratively, remotely, and at scale. Thiscovery, an online research and development platform created and developed by THIS Institute, was used in an exciting, fast-paced project to co-design COVID adaptations to a common clinical process – managing an obstetric emergency.
Over 100 participants working in maternity care, infection prevention and human factors took part in online consensus-building activities that resulted in 16 high quality recommendations. Illustrated in a very well-received short video, the project outputs have been endorsed by royal colleges, NHS bodies, and professional societies.
Supported by external visual agencies and stakeholders, a new video, infographic and information sheet reflecting the consensus-built solution were produced. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal College of Midwives, Prompt Maternity Foundation, Each Baby Counts, Infection Prevention Society and Obstetric Anaesthetists’ Association all provided endorsement.
The video, available on YouTube, has been viewed over 129,000 times. It was praised by the Chief Midwifery Officer for NHS England and by Martin Bromiley, a patient safety advocate, who described it as a “gold standard”. It has featured on NHS Resolution’s website.
The project has directly benefitted NHS staff urgently seeking online resources and training, and has also produced an innovative approach that can be used for improving many other healthcare processes for the future.
Illustration
Really rapid identification of the problem, consensus building and reflective practice with a wide range of practitioners resulting in shared learning, improved practice and better outcomes for patients. A really great example of how we should do healthcare research.
The judges
Future of the research
THIS Institute has continued its work to improve quality and safety in maternity care, such as through a programme of work to co-produce good practice guidelines for remote antenatal care, and the Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) programme. The ABC programme has led to nationally standardised approaches for detecting and responding to fetal deterioration during labour and for managing the obstetric emergency of impacted fetal head at caesarean section. A unique collaboration of THIS Institute, the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, ABC engaged maternity staff, women and birth partners at scale using Thiscovery to co-design the new tools and resources.
Quick fire Q&A
Dr Jan van der Scheer
1
What would others be surprised to learn about you?
For those who have online seen me online: that I am 6’7 tall.
2
What motivates you?
Knowing that I am doing something that makes the world a tiny bit of a better place.
3
If you could wake up tomorrow with a new skill, what would it be?
To speak German fluently – it would be lovely to understand better what the family of my other half tell me during holidays.
4
How do you pick yourself up when research does not go to plan?
I try to reflect on what I think is important in life and (my) research, and try to rethink from there.
5
What advances would you like to see in your field within your lifetime?
For it to become the norm that quality improvement of healthcare is based on evidence and generates evidence.
6
What three words best describe you?
Dedication, connection, positivity.
7
Who or what inspires you?
Barack Obama
Find out more
Managing obstetric emergencies in women with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
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