A Learning Organisation is one where people continually expand their capacity to improve, where new ways of thinking are nurtured, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together.

Individual learning and development is an essential part of this, but a Learning Organisation must also build its capacity to learn and improve at a system level.

This means:

• Demonstrating Board level leadership and commitment to a Learning Organisation approach. This should include effective committee arrangements which comply with Good Practice Guides for LHB's and Trusts;
• Having systems in place to act on feedback about services. This must include robust arrangements for handling concerns in line with Putting Things Right project;
• Creating new ways to gain feedback in ways that promote organisational learning, including the use of patient stories;
• Developing an organisational culture which is not blame orientated, recognises that mistakes happen, and complies with the requirements of NPSA guidance on Being Open;
• Knowing what the best looks like, continually seeking to benchmark against evidence-based best practice from elsewhere;
• Promoting team working that fosters innovative service delivery, and uses the Model for Improvement, as supported by the 1000 Lives Campaign;
• Investing in individual training and development, drawing on the full range of resources. Resources available at an All Wales level include Improving Healthcare Seminars and the NLIAH learning laboratory.

A full list of references quoted in the above is shown to the right of this page together with appropriate links.