On Thursday 3 April 2014 I attended the official opening by the Health Minister, Edwin Poots (@edwin_poots) of the Quality, Innovation and Improvement Centre (QIIC) at the Ulster Hospital.

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The QIIC was set up in recognition of the fact that staff have a wealth of knowledge, ideas and expertise that should be utilised to improve healthcare and the Centre will provide a central hub for developing and supporting staff to take forward quality improvement projects and innovative ideas which will drive efficiencies and improve the safety, quality and experience for all service users and staff.

The launch event was brilliant, with a welcome message from the Chief Executive, Hugh McCaughey (@HughMcCaughey), a cartoon character themed presentation titled, “To Infinity and Beyond” from Director for Children’s Services and Social Work, Ian Sutherland (@i_sutherland), and the official opening by the Health Minister, Edwin Poots MLA.

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Two highlights of the opening event were the interactive session “Innovation: Doing Things Differently” with Mentalist David Meade (@DavidMeadeLive) and the Dragons Den competition introduced by Associate Medical Director, David Hill.

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The QIIC itself is an impressive facility with a number of Syndicate Rooms and breakout rooms, a central Hub area, impressive IT and AV facilities, flexible opening hours, videoconferencing facilities, an IT training room, an Education Centre, and a High-fidelity Simulation Suite.  You can follow the QIIC on Twitter @SETInnovation.