Hardwiring improvement to achieve exceptional outcomes: Staff as leaders driving performance.

This article will discuss the experiences of two organizations who have driven process improvement through frontline ownership using the National Health Services' Releasing Time to Care (RTC) program. Through the implementation of RTC, frontline staff learn how to gather information from colleagues, stakeholders, and literature to design potential improvements.

SARS: coping with the impact at a community hospital.

Aim: This paper presents the findings of a staff survey conducted at a 350-bed acute care facility located on the periphery of Toronto, Canada.

Background: Toronto's severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) crisis resulted in trauma-like effects at hospitals hardest hit by the disease. A systematic examination of the impact on staff working in hospitals that saw relatively few cases, while maintaining the precautions associated with elevated alert levels, has not been undertaken.